Life and Lyrics
by Barrometz
Summary: Glee club; it sounds so harmless, but the drama never seems to stop. Being a new student at McKinley, Aaron is clueless as to what lies in store for him once he joins. Songs included when necessary; Puck/OC plus a few other Gleek/OC pairings down the line. Rated T for now. Starts right after "Dream On" in Season 1, currently up to Season 2
1. New School

1: New School

I walked onto campus on my first day at McKinley not expecting much to happen. _Boring classes, meet some new people; seems predictable enough. I just might get through the day in one piece. And since my grades were great before the transfer, I shouldn't even have to try in any of my classes to move on to Sophomore year. Maybe-_ I stopped walking and watched as a group of jocks threw someone into the dumpster, then walked away cheering like it was routine. _I really want to help him out, but it's my first day; I don't need to get grouped with the losers so soon._ I looked back a few times as I walked toward the school, just to see if he had gotten out of the dumpster. While I was turned around - just my luck - I ran into a pregnant girl and knocked all of her books onto the ground. _FML._

"Fuck," I muttered as I darted to pick up her books as quickly as I could. "He was- and they threw him- I wanted to help, but-" I stood and organized her books before handing them to her. "Did I hurt you?"

"I'm fine," she said dryly. I handed her the books and she walked away like nothing had happened, disappearing into the crowd_. _I just sighed and followed her into the building, finding my way to my first class with relatively little trouble. _Okay, my morning sucked; so what? I've seen enough TV to know what to expect from the rest of the day. The bell rings, students sit down, teacher's gonna ask me for the obligatory-new-student-first-day-of-school-speech. _The bell rang. Students sat down. The teacher walked in. _Right on cue._

"Alright, before we start today's lesson, we have a new student," the teacher stated, staring at me. "Would you care to introduce yourself?" _At least something's predictable today… And luckily, I've prepared a speech that sums me up perfectly. _I stood up and cleared my throat.

"Hi, my name is Aaron Lewis and I'm from Missouri," I said, sitting back down quietly. _Yup, that's about it._ The teacher motioned for me to go on, but I politely shook my head and smiled. She shrugged before picking up a stick of chalk and beginning her lesson. _Oh boy, algebra. I should use this time for something more productive, like doodles or sleeping…_ The girl to the left of me sneezed, catching my attention. She was wearing a fuzzy sweater with kittens on the sleeves. _Or finding someone that I can talk to…_

_This girl seems nice, but a little too nice. She's got a gold stars on her papers and she's in an animal sweater. I should check with someone else first, just to make sure she's not some psycho._ I began to look around the room, hoping to find a friendly face. _Pregnant girl isn't going to be my friend after what happened earlier, and I guess that rules out the guy next to her with the shaved head. With how he's looking at her, he's probably her boyfriend or something. _As I browsed, it became more and more apparent that no one was going to look friendly if they were bored out of their minds. I turned back to the board, noting the formula with the phrase "IMPORTANT" underlined beneath it. _Maybe I should focus on class right now; I can find a friend later._

Fifth hour came along, and yet I was just as bored and alone as I was four hours ago. Like the other classes, it started the same; with my teacher pointing me out to the class, then me sitting down after not saying much, then me napping, then looking for someone to talk to. My eye was drawn to a very fashionable duo across the room that kept looking at me, then back to each other as they gossiped. _Maybe they're friendly..._ I decided at that moment to stop shyly looking around every room like a creep and start _actively _trying to make friends for myself.

"Excuse me," I tapped the guy next to me's shoulder to get his attention.

"What's up new kid?" he responded casually.

"I was wondering why those two keep looking over here like that." I pointed them out, earning a smile and wave from both. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"Kurt and Mercedes? They're great, I'm sure they just want to get to know you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he extended his hand to me, "me too. My name's Finn Hudson." I shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Finn. My name's Aaron."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that much since you just said it at the beginning of class." _Oh yeah… right. _"And I can introduce you to those two after class. I'm sure they want to talk to you about glee club anyway."

"What's a glee club?"

"Just come find me at lunch, I'll explain everything."

"But-" The bell cut me off. Finn got up and smiled before heading out the door with the rest of the class. _Damn, he's tall… pretty good-looking too. He shouldn't be too hard to find at lunch, I just need to stop by my locker and grab my Spanish book first._

I ambled out of class and found my way to my locker. _In the complete opposite direction of the cafeteria. How convenient._ I approached my locker, but paused when I heard something slam against the lockers ahead. _I know them..._

"What's the matter ladyfella? Got somewhere to be?" I saw two jocks pinning Kurt against his locker. _Those two threw that kid into the dumpster earlier!_ I kept walking toward them without being noticed. _After not helping him out of the dumpster_ and_ running into a pregnant chick, I really need to fix my karma. Looks like it's up to me to help Kurt. So here goes nothing._

"Yo! Douchebags!" The three of them looked over at me, both bullies looking pissed and confused. "If you two are done asking Kurt out, I need to talk to him." _And so it has begun…_

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"Just some kid from Missouri. And I'm gonna be late for lunch at this rate, so go crawl back into whatever hole you slithered out of and stop wasting my time. I need to talk to Kurt." The jocks shifted, loosening their hold on the smaller teen. _C'mon, just a little further and he can make a run for it._

"Well, Azimio, looks like we need to teach the new kid a lesson."

"I think you're right, Karofsky." The bullies let go of Kurt and started walking toward me. _Bingo!_ Bolting forward, I dove and slid between the two of them.

"Kurt run!" I got back on my feet, grabbed his hand, and kept running.

"Where are we going?" Kurt asked panicked.

"My truck's parked outside this end of the building. We just need to get in before they get to us," I glanced back to see how much they had caught up already, "which won't be long!" _I know I can outrun them, but I can't leave Kurt behind..._

We burst through the doors and headed for my truck. I grabbed my keys, pressed unlock, and we jumped into the closest doors, slamming and locking them behind us.

"What now?" Kurt panted. _If only I had planned this part out first…_ I shook my head as I started my truck.

"Honestly, I got nothin." Azimio stood in front of the truck and Karofsky blocked us from behind. "Fuck!" I looked around, hoping to find a way out of this predicament. _Hey, there's a teacher coming!_ "Kurt, there's a teacher!"

"Coach Sylvester? She won't help us unless… Aaron, roll down the window!" I did as instructed and looked back at Kurt worriedly.

"What's going on here?" She asked.

"Coach, I offered to show Aaron my personal collection of Madonna music, seeing as he knows so little of her talent, and these two Neanderthals are trying to stop me from spreading her glory." The coach looked furious at this seemingly irrelevant statement.

"You two. My office. NOW!" _That may have been the single fastest mood change I've ever seen. Note to self: I do NOT want to get on her bad side._

"But-" Azimio stammered in defense, not getting far before the coach cut him off with a bullhorn.

"No buts! You will report to my office immediately, or I will be forced to perform a well-deserved citizen's arrest." The jocks glared at me, punched my truck, and headed back to school with the disgruntled coach. _I can't believe we didn't get hurt… _

I looked at Kurt, then down to my steering wheel, letting out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"So… what now?" I asked, feeling my heartbeat slowly return to normal.

"We can't go back in there today; it's not really safe for either of us," Kurt explained. "Wait, how are you old enough to drive?"

"I started school a year late; I'm a freshmen, but I'll be sixteen in a few months so it's not a big deal. Plus, my dad's a cop so there's a decent chance we won't get in trouble anyway." _At least not any legal trouble._

"Okay then," Kurt said, a bit unsure. "Want to go get some lunch? I know a place with endless breadsticks; my treat for saving me." _Looks like I made a friend after all._

"Sure, why not. What's it called?"

"BreadstiX."

* * *

* My first shot at a Glee story. Advice and suggestions for how to continue would be much appreciated. BTW, next chapter is where the music comes in. Eventual Gleek/OC pairing. Can you guess who? Here's a hint: their name didn't appear in this chapter... ;P *


	2. New Friends

2: New Friends

Kurt led the way to BreadstiX, which he described as "the most appropriately-named restaurant in Ohio." I, of course, drove us there from school, listening to him babble on and on about Mercedes and his friends and fashion and glee the whole way until we finally got there. I pulled into the nearly-empty parking lot, found a great spot near the front row, and parked. I turned my truck off and unbuckled my seat belt, waiting for Kurt to do the same. He seemed pretty content to just keep on looking at me and smiling though.

"You know, Kurt, you could just as easily stare at me in there." I joked, forcing a heavy blush to fill Kurt's cheeks. "I promise I'll be just as good looking outside the truck as I am inside it."

"I'm so sorry! I spaced out…" _Yeah, I noticed._

I chuckled and opened my door, "Come on, doe-eyes. I don't want you to miss your glee club meeting after school." Kurt nodded, and we headed into BreadstiX. "Are you sure we're not gonna get caught?"

"Not exactly, but it wasn't my idea to antagonize those animals," Kurt said pointedly. "Don't get me wrong though, I do appreciate the rescue."

"My pleasure." We walked into the restaurant thinking we could get away with this little trip. A mere fifteen seconds later, we had already been spotted.

"Hummel? What are you doing here on a school day?"

"Damn it…" Kurt mumbled quietly enough that only I would hear. _I guess he wanted some alone time. Or, maybe he just doesn't like them. _He put on a fake smile and greeted the two girls sitting at the third booth from the front. "Hey Brit, hey Santana. What brings you two here?"

"Got bored at school, tricked some loser into driving us here and paying for our food. He already took off, but he left his credit card." the closer girl said, waving the Visa in front of her. _She kinda seems like a bitch… beautiful, but still a bitch… _"What brings you here? It's not really your kind of thing to just leave school," she glanced approvingly at me, "but I guess it's not really your kind of thing to have a hot date either."

"Not a date. He just helped me out of a tight spot earlier, so we decided not to go back to class just yet."

"I was in a tight spot once…" the blonde stated. "I tried to get under my bed to save my cat, Lord Tubbington, and I got stuck. I waited an hour before my mom found me." I looked at Kurt, unsure of whether or not she was being serious, and he just smiled and nodded. _At least she seems nicer than the Latina._

"Aaron, this is Brittany," Kurt pointed to the blonde, "and this is Santana," indicating the other girl.

"Nice to meet you two. Do you mind if we sit down, or should we get another table?"

Santana patted the seat next to her invitingly and smiled. "Take a seat."

So the four of us got to talking; the three Cheerios going on and on about how awful Coach Sylvester can be, and then Santana going off on another tangent about a guy named Puck and how he apparently doesn't seem to understand that he belongs to her. Brittany mentioned that she was dating a football player for now, so I talked a little about my time as a running back at my old school. Santana showed a brief interest in me, then talked about Puck some more, mentioning him being a wide receiver and alluded to Kurt liking the quarterback. Kurt hastily changed the subject to food as our pastas arrived, and no other mentions of Finn were made from that point on. Santana tried to flirt with me, but I was too caught up in my food to pay her much attention. The four of us talked music some, the girls promptly warning me that if Sue thought I left school to hear Madonna I had better learn a routine fast. _This isn't gonna end well for me, I just know it._

"What do you mean I'm gonna have to learn a Madonna routine? I'm not a performer like you guys."

"So join glee," Kurt suggested. "Matt's moving away in a few days and we're going to need a twelfth member to replace him if we want to qualify for regionals."

"Did you conveniently forget everything I just said? I'm _not_ a performer. I'm a football player."

"Yeah, so are Finn, Puck, Matt, and Mike, and they're all in glee. In fact, I was even a member of the team once." _He's got to be joking. I don't know which is less believable: a high school show choir group with four members currently on their football team, or Kurt playing football..._

"And it'll give you more time to see me and Brittany," Santana added. _I still don't get why she makes such a big deal about Puck if she came here with another guy _and _she's been hitting on_ _me on and off since I sat down. She's not even my type._

"I just don't know." _I'm not sure how I feel about joining a club dedicated to singing. It could be fun, but it could also be really horrible and really embarrassing._

"Give it a week. If you hate it then, quit," Kurt suggested. _I guess it couldn't hurt to try it for a week. _I nodded in agreement. "Then it's settled; Aaron will audition for glee tonight, and that's that_._"

"And that's _what_?" Brittany asked, not quite following our conversation. Kurt and I traded worried glances, then just smiled and got up, leading the girls to my truck to head back to school.

* * *

"Thanks for the ride Aaron," Brittany and Santana said as they walked into the building to glee, pinkies locked together.

"I texted everyone, so they'll all be waiting in the auditorium. Do you know what you're going to sing?" Kurt asked excitedly. _Good question..._ I gulped and looked around awkwardly, hoping an answer would just come to me all of a sudden. Kurt started frowning. "You don't, do you? Have you put any thought into it?" I met Kurt's gaze with an apologetic smile and began walking inside. Kurt sighed and walked me in. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't really know."

"Do you even have a genre picked out?"

"No, but I'm sure I can figure something out."

Kurt just rolled his eyes and smiled. "I guess it doesn't matter anyway; if you suck we'll just have you dance along in the background."

"Why am I auditioning if I don't even need talent?"

"It's more entertaining for us this way," Kurt said casually. _Oh boy. I'm putting myself on the spot, completely unprepared, for a bunch of people I don't know. _

Kurt drifted away from me as we entered the auditorium, claiming a seat next to Mercedes. I looked around, matching names I had heard at lunch to faces; Quinn was looking away from Puck, who was looking dejectedly at the back of her head, Tina and Artie were laughing about something, and the rest of the group sat in a cluster in the first few rows of seats. Rachel, the animal sweater girl, walked up to greet me with a smile that seemed professionally rehearsed. "Hi there, you must be Aaron."

"Yeah, we're in the same first period class."

"Right. Well, I'd like to be the first to officially welcome you to the Glee Club! To fully understand your talents, you'll need to sing for us," she said with another smile, taking hold of my arm to lead me to the stage. "What song have you prepared?"

"I haven't actually picked my song yet..."

Rachel raised an eyebrow disapprovingly. "Oh, well do you have anything in your repertoire?"

"Nope," I replied, feigning confidence. Rachel sighed and looked worriedly back at Kurt. Kurt just shrugged, so she turned back to me.

"Well then what do you intend to do?" I put my hands in my pockets nervously, finding exactly what I needed to get past this dilemma. I pulled out my iPod and smirked.

"I'll sing whatever comes up first on my shuffle. That'll save me the trouble of having to pick something." Rachel, clearly displeased, nodded and walked to her seat. _So much for having anything predictable today... I'm auditioning for a club I had no intention of joining with a random song. _I unlocked my iPod, switched to song shuffle, and pressed select; after skipping an instrumental song, fate chose me "Everybody's Changing," by Keane. _Not a bad choice... fairly emotional, I know all the lyrics, no big instrumental solos. _"Where can I plug this in?"

"The band'll play for you, just tell them your song," Finn responded from his seat.

"What if they don't know the song?"

"That's never happened," Puck replied with certainty. "These band geeks know everything." _They can't possibly know every song..._ I thought to myself as I turned to the band members assembled on stage.

"Keane: Everybody's Changing." The band kids nodded and seamlessly began playing, no need for practice or direction. _How do they- Oh screw it_, _I'll figure them out later... Now I guess all that's left is to get this over with. _

* * *

*I'll songfic eventually, but these lyrics don't apply to any of this so I don't think they'll really be necessary. If you want em, look em up; it's a great song (which I do not own in any way shape or form. that honor goes to Keane.) And yes, these results were picked by shuffle.*_  
_


	3. Moving In

3: Moving In

I finished my song out of breath, pleased with my performance and reassured by the applause. "How'd I do?" I asked nervously.

"You were great!" Kurt shouted from his seat in the back of the group.

I stepped off stage to talk to everyone and see if they had any advice for me and Rachel was the first to approach. "Well, you're not Finn good, but you were much better than I expected you to be," she commented. _Was their supposed to be a compliment in there somewhere? I get the Finn part; Kurt said he's their male lead. But the rest..._

"What, did you expect me to suck?" I asked, slightly offended.

"No, it's not that- you just weren't prepared so I assumed you would fumble with your song choice, and-"

"What she means to say is that you surprised her," Finn said, cutting Rachel off abruptly. "You really were good." _Nice save._

"Oh. Well, thanks." I started walking back toward Kurt and Mercedes and immediately tripped over someone's purse. "Ow..." I rolled over and looked at the purse, now spilled all over the floor. _Please don't let this be Quinn's stuff again... _I sighed a quiet breath of relief when I heard Santana begin to complain about me knocking her bag over_. _"Sorry Santana, I'll get it."

"Don't bother, just get out of my way. I'll do it myself." _Damn she gets pissed fast. _

As I was brushing the dirt off my jeans from hitting the floor Puck approached to offer me a hand. "Thanks," I said as he helped me up.

"No problem; happy to help anyone who can piss Santana off that easily," Puck laughed. "You might end up regretting it later, but it's damn funny in the meantime."

"What's damn funny?" Santana demanded, staring angrily at Puck. He just smiled and walked away, so I took that as my cue to do the same, heading to the stage to grab the water bottle I'd put in my backpack before school. _Okay, so I think today has gone pretty well if you don't count me pissing off two stupid bullies, a bitchy cheerleader, and maybe a pregnant bitchy cheerleader... and also the fact that I skipped 2 classes. _I felt a hand on my shoulder as I finished my drink.

"Welcome to Glee Club," Mr. Schuester said cheerfully. "Thanks for stepping up and auditioning. Not many kids at this school are interested in Glee."

"Uh, no problem, but you should be thanking Kurt, Brittany, and Santana for convincing me to."

"I'll be sure to thank them, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you too, but right now I actually need to talk to Tina. Is she still here?" I glanced around the room, spotting her near the back of the group.

"She's over there with Artie." I pointed her out and he walked away, only to promptly lead her out of the room. I walked back to Kurt and Mercedes, who watched Mr. Schuester escort Tina out into the hall with concern. "What do you think that's about?"

"I don't know, but I sure hope it's nothing serious," Mercedes said.

"Yeah... Hey, Aaron, what are you doing after school today?" Kurt asked.

"I still have to unpack the rest of my stuff, why?"

"Me, Quinn, and Kurt were gonna have a movie/musical night," Mercedes explained. "We thought you might want to come."

"Uh, if I get done unpacking early enough, sure. I'll try to hurry." Hopefully _this will be a good chance to make up with Quinn for knocking her books over this morning._

"Great, give me your number and I'll text you my address so you have mine too."

* * *

I stared anxiously at the stack of boxes in my new room, knowing that I had a lot of boring work ahead of me if I hoped to go out tonight. I headed to the kitchen to get some chips, hoping food could somehow make the process a little less boring.

"Hey honey," mom said as she pulled a stack of plates from a box marked 'KITCHEN'. "Did you make any friends today?"

"Yeah," I answered as I grabbed the chips and turned to walk back to my room.

"Do I get to hear about them?" mom asked curiously. I sighed and backtracked to the counter where mom was leaning forward anxiously.

"I joined the glee club because one of them was moving away and they needed twelve members to qualify for their next competition. There's four football players: one's really tall, one's Asian, one's black, and one's Jewish. Three cheerleaders: one Mexican, one pregnant, and I think one's borderline mental. There's also a paraplegic nerd, an Asian goth, a fat diva, a Broadway wannabe, and a really gay guy."

"I was hoping we could sit down and talk about your day, but I guess that works for now," she sighed. "And I'm glad you've made so many new friends already. This is a welcome change from your last school," mom said as she returned to her work. I headed for my room again, this time getting blocked by my sister Carol in the hallway.

"You're hanging out with a glee club _and_ a gay kid? I'm impressed," she said jokingly, sounding equally impressed and sarcastic at the same time. "You would have been way too worried about your reputation at our last school to do something like this."

"I already told you guys; I'm gonna try to be myself at this school, whether or not it makes me a lot of friends. Which it already has."

"Yourself, huh? Does that include your sexual orientation or are we still ignoring that little detail?" She inquired as she ran a free hand through my already messy hair. I brushed past her and set my chips down in my room.

"I'll let you know when I figure that part out," I replied as I stepped around a box in my doorway and shut myself in to focus on unpacking.

I sighed and moved the box full of clothing over to my closet with the others and began the tedious process of hanging all my shirts, jackets, and pants. _What good would it do me to come out right now? It's not like I'm planning on looking for a boyfriend so soon... but then again, I'm pretty sure my reputation won't be taking any major blows if it's already as low as I think it's gonna be here. And Kurt could probably help me answer a lot of my questions. But then again, I really don't need those bullies from earlier to have any further reason to hate me. I may be an athlete, but I really don't want to have to fight either of them._

After hanging all my clothes I moved on to sorting video games, movies, and a few books onto the shelves Dad had helped me set up last night. Board games went under the bed, boxers, socks, and hats into the dresser, big mirror in the corner, and posters to cover the boring white walls that I knew i wouldn't get around to painting for at least a month or two. Letting out a breath of relief, I surveyed my hastily-thrown-together room for errors and missing components, stopping for a moment at the mirror. _Carol really did a number on my hair. _I toyed with the shaggy brown mess for a little while, never making satisfying progress.

"Okay, shower first. Then movies."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later I was satisfied overall with how I looked and ready to go. One last sweep around the room didn't make evident any problems, so I shrugged and headed out with my overnight bag. _I guess that's it for now._ I pulled my phone out and called Mercedes.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mercedes, it's Aaron."

"Oh, hey! You done unpacking yet?"

"Yep, I'm all set for tonight. When should I head over?"

"How about now? We haven't started any of the movies yet, but since Quinn lives here and Kurt just got here we're ready when you are."

"Perfect, I'll be over as soon as I can." I hung up and grabbed my jacket, heading straight for the door. "Hey mom!" I shouted in no general direction, unsure of where she was and unwilling to waste the time needed to look.

"Yes, honey?"

"Would it be alright if I spend the night with a few of my new friends?" Mom smiled.

"Sure. You're grounded from using the truck since you skipped some of your classes, but I'm happy enough about you making friends that I'll drive you to the sleepover anyway," she grinned.

"They already called you about that?"

"Carol saw your truck leave school." _Of course she did. She's got eyes like a hawk when it comes to getting me in trouble... _"Come on, I'm sure you'd rather get going than stand around talking about your flagrant truancy."


	4. Movie Night

* Wow this chapter is late... As usual, sorry for the long wait, and I hope you enjoy the story *

* * *

4: Movie Night

I didn't have to wait long after ringing Mercedes' doorbell for her and Kurt to eagerly open the door to greet me; the smell of microwave popcorn assaulting me within my first few steps in. They led me down the hall to Mercedes' room where the festivities were apparently all set to start. Kurt read me the list of movies they'd prepared for the evening. Mercedes showed me the selection of snacks and drinks. Kurt confirmed that her parents were out of town, so we could sing as loudly as we wanted. Everything was ready and waiting. That is, everything but Quinn.

"Wasn't she supposed to be here by now?" I asked, not exactly eager to see her after this morning's clumsy start but curious nonetheless. _This can't be so bad._

"She's in the bathroom. I think its morning sickness," Mercedes commented.

"Right. She's pretty far along in her pregnancy, isn't she?"

"Around eight months now," Quinn said behind me, nearly startling my soda cup right out of my hand. "You sure are jumpy today."

"Yeah… I'm really sorry about this morning."

"Don't worry about it. Accidents happen," she said as she gestured toward her baby bump.

"What happened this morning?" Kurt asked as he carried a few bowls of popcorn into the room.

"Aaron stumbled and knocked my books out of my hand. He was nice enough to pick them all up for me though."

"It's been a long day," I admitted.

"And," Kurt said excitedly, "it's far from over. Everybody take your seats; the show is about to start."

"What are we watching first?"

"Well, I thought we'd start off with Showgirls and eventually finish with Phantom of the Opera."

"Any chance I'll get a say in what we watch in between there?"

"What, do you not like musicals? If you don't, you've come to the wrong place."

"No, I guess I'm cool with musicals." _I don't really care to sit through this many hours of them, but I'm here to make friends, so I guess I'll deal._ "Never mind." I settled into a huddle of blankets on the floor near the foot of Mercedes' bed, Kurt to my right, and the girls on the bed.

* * *

We finished the first movie at about nine o'clock. None of us were tired yet, but we figured we had time for two or three more movies before we started nodding off. Kurt insisted that Phantom of the Opera be saved for last, but hadn't planned the movies before it.

"Alright, what's next?" I asked the group as Kurt put Showgirls back into its case.

"I was thinking..." Kurt pulled the next movie case from the stack, "The Sound of Music?" _Ugh, not that one..._ Kurt looked my way. "Excuse me?" _Why is he-_

"Oh... I said that out loud, didn't I?" Mercedes nodded.

"Do you have a problem with Julie Andrews?" _No way, mom says I used to ask to watch Mary Poppins every other day when I was younger.  
_

"All I said was "ugh," where in that did you find anything even remotely anti-Julie Andrews?"

"It was all in the inflection," Quinn comented with a slight laugh. "And I don't really want to watch The Sound of Music either."

"Fine," Kurt conceded. "You guys have any better ideas?"

"How about Cats Don't Dance?" Mercedes suggested. "I haven't seen it in like, six years. It's cute, it's funny, and it's still musical."

"Sounds good." We settled into place again after Mercedes called us a few pizzas for delivery. Ten minutes later the doorbell rang.

"Well that was fast," Mercedes said as she paused the movie and went to investigate. She came back not with a pizza, but with Puck from glee. "It wasn't the pizza guy."

"Damn, I'm starving," I said as I chewed another mouthful of popcorn.

"You're gonna choke if you keep eating like that, Aaron," Kurt joked.

"What the hell are you doing here, Puck?!" Quinn demanded, snapping me and Kurt's attention out of our conversation and into theirs.

"You live here now. I figured you'd be here," he answered. "I know you don't want me to get involved but I'm not gonna let you do this alone."

"You don't get any say in what _I_ do with _my_ baby."

"Like hell I don't! She's my baby too!" Puck reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out what I could only guess was about 200 dollars in 20's. "Just take the damn money," he said as he placed the bills at the head of the bed where Quinn was laying. He then stormed out of the bedroom and down the hall, but not out the front door. I waited and listened, but no more doors opened or closed.

"He didn't leave, did he?" I asked.

"Sounds like he went to the kitchen…" Mercedes guessed. I got up to keep an eye on him, finding Puck immersed in their fridge as I walked in.

"They got anything good in there?" I asked, heading to the cabinet for another bag of popcorn. Puck glanced my way, then back to the fridge.

"Not even close, new kid." He closed the door and leaned back against the refrigerator. "No beer, not even any wine coolers. Not a drop of alcohol to be found."

"My name's Aaron. And in their defense, they've got some really tasty Kool-Aid in there." Puck gave me an annoyed look.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Of course I''m kidding." I took a seat at their kitchen table, turning my chair to face Puck. "So what's on your mind, dude? It's pretty obvious from that little display with Quinn that you're dealing with some heavy stuff right now." Puck glared in the direction of Mercedes' bedroom.

"Shouldn't you be back in there watching musicals by now? Don't just stick around to talk 'cause you feel sorry for me. I don't need your pity."

"This isn't a pity thing. I'm not a big fan of having to sit still for any extended period of time, so coming over for a movie/musical marathon wasn't exactly the best idea I've ever had." _I guess enduring a few musicals is worth it if I can make some friends though._

"Yeah. I can't imagine having to spend that much alone time with Lady Hummel anyway."

"Kurt's cool. I mean, yeah, he's sort of a lot to take in at first, but so far he seems cool."

"I'll take your word for it," Puck laughed. _I'd like to get to know him too, but I don't think he'd stay for the marathon. Then again, I don't think Quinn would want him to anyway.__  
_

"How about we go talk somewhere?" I offered. "I'll get some fresh air, and it'll be a great chance for me to get to know you."

"Thanks, but no thanks. You want to talk about feelings, go back and talk to the girls."_ Okay, well that didn't work. Plan B?_

"Okay, well I think I'm gonna get out of here anyway. You're free to tag along if you've got nothing better to do." He rolled his eyes and sighed, but nodded anyway.

"Where to?" _I got him. _

"I dunno. Somewhere outside, I guess. I didn't drive so I was planning on walking around the neighborhood or something."

"I've got just the place. And I'm driving."

"Alright, sounds like a plan. I'm just gonna go tell Kurt and Mercedes first."

"Don't bother, we've been eavesdropping the whole time," Mercedes said from around the corner with Kurt hovering just behind.

"Oh, uh… thanks?"

"Anytime," she smiled.


	5. Questions

5: Questions

Puck and I had been sitting on the McKinley High bleachers for at least half an hour by now in the dark. He'd been alternating between tossing a football up and catching it in place and clenching it like he was dead set on popping it. I could tell that he had absolutely no intention of starting a conversation, but I'd grown tired of waiting for him to say something. _This friendship is stalling fast. _The next time he tossed his football up I grabbed it and walked onto the field. "You coming?" I asked as I headed out to the 50 yard line. The sound of him trudging behind followed shortly.

"Since you're never gonna talk on your own, we're gonna make this a game to ease some of the tension and awkwardness," I explained. "We'll take turns passing the ball and asking each other questions. If the question makes you uncomfortable you can move further away depending on how hard the question is for you to answer. If the one asking still makes the pass the other has to answer anyway."

"What if I just don't feel like talking about something?" Puck asserted.

"I can't _force_ you to talk. Technically you don't even have to play this stupid little game. We can go back to sitting around in the dark on the bleachers again until one of us gets tired and leaves if that sound more entertaining to you."

"Not really," he smiled.

"Good. I'll ask the first question: why'd you join glee?" I tossed him the ball easily since he hadn't moved for the question.

"Coach Tanaka and Mr. Schue were in an a capella group a while back and they needed replacements for a few guys that had dropped out. The first gig was at a PTA meeting and I scored with a couple cougars thanks to that night. I joined the glee club a few weeks later. Figured I might as well keep performing, maybe it'd get me some more tail in the long run. What about you?"

I caught the ball. "Kurt, Brittany, and Santana pressured me into it on the way back from BreadstiX earlier. I know it's not the coolest thing to be doing, but I needed something to do until football season comes around. That, and it seemed like an easy way to get to know some people. Okay, next question... What's the best purchase you've ever made?" I tossed the ball, Puck catching it once again without stepping back.

"My nipple ring," Puck said as he lifted his shirt to show it off, giving me a nice view of his muscular chest for just a few seconds before he pulled his shirt back down. "The ladies love it." _I can see why..._ "Why'd you move here?"

"Dad found a job opening here, and this puts us closer to the rest of our family. I think mom missed her folks. When they first told me we were moving I was shocked and upset, but I warmed up to the idea of being in a new school pretty quickly, and then the move didn't seem so bad..." I trailed off, remembering all my troubles back there.

"Don't you miss your old friends?" Puck queried.

"It's my turn to ask, but I guess I'll answer anyway. Yes, I'll miss all of my friends a lot... all zero of them..." _Stop that, Aaron. It's not your night to vent._ "What's your favorite subject in school?"

"English. My teacher doesn't mind that I sleep through the classes, and the work's pretty easy to catch up on. Why didn't you have any friends back at your old school?" I moved back about two yards and caught the ball.

"I was popular, and I had plenty of people who called me their friend, but none of them ever really gave a damn about me. They were only there for their reputation, or for obligations, or to keep up appearances. I was going through a tough point in my life and I convinced myself that bullying would distract me from my problems," I said as I returned to the 50 yard line. "Being in football helped since my teammates were usually egging me on. I didn't like them very much, but I love sports, so I stayed with that group. I'm not going to let that happen here though. I'm free to be myself here, and nobody can keep me from that. Although I do still plan to play football here." Puck nodded understandingly. "What about you? I've heard that you're the big badass around here."

"You heard right," he bragged. "I don't as much now that we're on the same team, but I used to throw Kurt into dumpsters everyday and lock Artie weird places. Still give Jacob Ben Israel a hard time whenever I can. I cut back on slushying people though. That shit burns when it gets in your eyes." _Unfortunately, I'm sure I'll find about that soon enough. _"What's the stupidest thing you've ever done?"

"Uh," I paused for a second, not really sure how to answer, "probably pissing Azimio and Karofsky off today and then getting them in trouble with the cheerleading coach. It was worth it to help Kurt, but I'm sure I'll regret it later. They seem like they're the type to hold a grudge."

"Big time."

"Okay, next question: What happened with you and Quinn?" Puck only took a few steps back before signaling me to throw the ball. _I guess he's ready to talk about it._

"I fucked her while she was still dating Finn, so she convinced him that it was his baby even though they'd never had sex." _Wow, Santana said Finn wasn't that smart, but that's just sad._ "After he found out he broke up with her and she still won't accept me. I think I might love her, and I know I don't want to lose this kid, but Quinn's got her heart set on putting her up for adoption. I'm even looking for a part-time job to get her more money to help her get through this. She's too stubborn to say anything, but I know she needs it."

"Damn… that's heavy."

"Yeah, I know." Puck tossed the ball up a few times before coming up with a new question. "Why did you want to talk to me, anyway?"

"I'm new here, so I'm trying to make some friends. Kurt, Mercedes, and Quinn are nice, but I think I probably have a lot more in common with you than any of them. That, and you really looked like you needed to vent." Puck nodded. "Like I said earlier, I can't force you to talk to me, but I'm gonna be living here for a while. If you ever need to talk or yell or even just sit in silence, I 'd be happy to help."

"Thanks. Finn won't talk to me anymore, and Mike and Matt are still cool, but they always take Finn's side in this. I may take you up on that sometime."

"No problem. Now, I hate to cut this short, but I should be getting back to the musical marathon thing. I don't want to be gone if my parents call to check in."

"Sure, I can drive you back."

* * *

After Puck dropped me off and drove away Mercedes led Kurt and I to the living room, insisting that Quinn had fallen asleep in her room and that it was too early to just go to bed. She and Kurt took a seat on the couch while I opted for the recliner.

"So, what did you and Puck do on your little outing?"

"We just talked," I answered honestly. "Not much else."

"That's it?"

"Well, I guess we tossed a football around a little. Why, what did you think was going to happen?"

"I don't know, something illegal?" Kurt responded suspiciously. "Puck is always getting himself into trouble. You'd be a lot better off here with us."

"Um... thanks, but I think I can manage both."

"Yeah, Kurt. Puck's not that bad; I did go out with him for a while." _Didn't see that one coming._

"Sure, but he's not that good either." _I honestly can't tell if Kurt's trying to keep me away from Puck for my own good or trying to keep me closer to himself instead._

"I don't claim to know him like you two do, but from what I've seen, he's got a good heart."

"He threw me in the dumpsters everyday and got his best friend's girlfriend pregnant. He's an inconsiderate bully."

"What, so bullies can't change?"

"How about we change the subject?" Mercedes offered, attempting to cut this conflict short. "You're both taking this weirdly personal, and I'm getting pretty uncomfortable."

"She's right. Sorry for getting so heated; I don't know what's gotten into me."

"Same here," I commented apologetically. "I appreciate you wanting to look out for me, but Puck doesn't scare me. I know my way around a jock." Kurt and Mercedes exchanged an intrigued look. "Shit, that came out wrong. I meant that I'm an athlete, and I was a bully back at my old school, and- no, never mind. We were changing the subject, weren't we?"

"Hold on, I'm interested in what you were saying," Mercedes insisted. "And what?"

"And..." I took a deep breath and steeled my nerves. _Come on, Aaron. Now's your chance to be real with someone. They'll still like you even if you're gay._ "I got flustered because I'm used to doing whatever I can to backtrack over gay comments..."

"So, are you homophobic or something?"

I held my hands steady to calm my nerves. _You can do this. _"Not homo-phobic... just homo." _Well, that was only incredibly difficult... _Kurt and Mercedes sat in stunned silence. _Shit, I broke them..._ "Seriously, please say something," I pleaded, my nerves getting the best of me.

"I'm just surprised," Mercedes commented, "You really don't seem like it."

"That's the point. Just because I'm gay - shit I still can't believe I'm saying that out loud - doesn't mean I have to be flamboyant about it. No offense, Kurt."

"None taken."

"So is that why you wanted to leave with Puck earlier?" Mercedes asked with a slight grin.

"What?! No!" I shook my head to emphasize my point. "I went with Puck because I want to make plenty of friends before I come out publicly, so I'll have a better chance of not being shunned." _All evidence points to him being straight anyway._

"Well, whether or not the other kids at school accept you, you've always got us. And you don't have anything to worry about with glee club either," she explained. "Be yourself, we'll still like you."

"Thanks. That really does mean a lot to me, but can we please change the subject now? I still haven't warmed up to the idea of being out."

"Sure. Do you know what happened to Tina after your audition?"

* * *

* As usual, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope no one seems too out of character. Next chapter takes place during Theatricality *


	6. Theatricality

6: Theatricality

When I walked into glee after school on Monday, I finally understood what Kurt and Mercedes had meant when they told me Tina was in trouble. She was dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and jeans instead of what I understood to be her usual look. _Apparently she was dressing like a vampire, and that scared the principal? I don't see what the big deal is, she's just goth. But he's in charge, so whatever. _The others suggested a few new looks for her, but they just kept getting worse as they went on. _I mean, seriously? Computer programmer? Cross-country skier? Chicken?_ _I swear I saw Kurt hold back a gag just from hearing them suggested as viable fashions._ Then Rachel bursts in half-hysterical talking about spying and red lace and Christmas lights. I was just as lost as the rest of the guys, aside from Kurt, who considers himself one of the girls anyway. The weird clues apparently added up to one thing: Vocal Adrenaline was doing Lady Gaga. Which then led us to this week's assignment: also Lady Gaga.

"Alright kids. If you can, I want you all to try out a Lady Gaga inspired outfit this week. This will be a great chance to find Tina a new look, and to get in touch with your theatricality," Mr. Schuester beamed, equally as excited as the girls. "I'm expecting some great effort from all of you, so give it your best, and I'll see you tomorrow." The group began to leave, anxiously chatting about what look they'd be using and how they would get started. I slung my backpack over one shoulder and approached him.

"Uh, Mr. Schue, is the dressing up mandatory?"

"Glee is an extra-curricular activity, so, no, nothing is mandatory," he chuckled. "I think if you gave it a try you may have a lot of fun this week though."

"Maybe, but I don't think I'm really ready to perform like this yet. Or outgoing enough." The teacher brought a comforting hand to my shoulder.

"Move at your own pace, Aaron. Feel free to join in whenever you're ready."

"Thanks. See you tomorrow." I walked out the door, surprised to find Kurt and Tina waiting for me on the other side. "Oh, hey guys. What's up?"

"Any idea which of Lady Gaga's iconic looks you'll be sporting for glee?" I shrugged nervously.

"I don't think I'm gonna do it at all, actually."

"What? Why not?" Tina asked.

"I just don't want to, I guess."

"I already have the perfect choice for you, so don't worry about choosing if that's what's stopping you," Kurt asserted._  
_

"Thanks, but no thanks," I answered politely. Kurt started to talk again, but I cut him off and walked past. "Sorry, my dad's waiting in the car and I still have to swing by my locker. I'll see you two tomorrow."

"Sure, see you then."

"Bye, Aaron."

* * *

Things got weirder the next day when Kurt and Tina walked in looking... well, there's only one word to cover _that_ kind of bizarre: Gaga. Tina had chosen the bubble dress look, with a short white wig and tall white boots. Of course Kurt had jumped at the chance to get this dressed up, and came in wearing a silver dress with pointy shoulders, high-heels that looked like crab-claws, and a tall white wig. The rest of the girls were in full Gaga mode as well, rocking black lace, lobster glasses, pink wire, purple hair, and a weird stuffed animal dress that was really lame and sort of sad-looking. _You'd think at least one of Rachel's gay dads would know how to sew...  
_

I took a seat next to Finn, doing my best to not look as uncomfortable as I was. "Is glee always like this?" I asked him quietly.

"Yeah, sorta. The energy is the same, but the costume thing is new."

"Just my luck..." I grumbled, sinking back slightly in my chair. "I join just in time for the girly costumes."

"It's cool, me and Artie are working on something else for this week for us guys to do."

"Not Gaga?" I asked, perking up slightly.

"Nope." Before I could ask what exactly the plan was, Rachel announced that the girls had a number ready already, and Mr. Schuester led us to the auditorium.

"Tell me after glee?"

"Sure thing."

Me, the guys, and Mr. Schuester took our seats, and the girls set up for Bad Romance. I was beyond impressed by the time they were finished. _That was incredible! The choreography was great, their voices were fantastic... If they're this good for every number, there's no way we could lose at regionals. And once the whole group's performing together, I'm sure it's way more awesome. Wait, am I supposed to be this good already? Kurt did say I could just do backup vocals, but I don't want to drag them down... _Kurt shook me from my thoughts, reminding me that glee was already over for the day.

"Kurt, you were amazing. That whole performance was amazing. How did you all plan that so well in so little time?"

"We take our Gaga very seriously. The song choice was obvious, and Brit and Santana are excellent choreographers," he commented. "Oh, and I thought maybe if you had some time after this I could help you out with your Madonna number for Coach Sylvester," he proposed, walking up to me impressively well in his bedazzled claw shoes.

"That was just you, Santana, and Brittany telling me to do a Madonna song though. Unless _she_ brings it up I'm fine to just let it slide. Besides, if this woman is even half as crazy as everyone keeps telling me, I bet she's already neck-deep in a few new insane schemes to ruin the glee club?"

"Come on, this week's all about being theatrical and putting yourself out there. I understand why you don't want to do the Madonna number, but not wanting to do Gaga?"

"I like her music, but I'm just not into getting all dressed up." _I know if I'd dressed like Lady Gaga back at my old school I wouldn't have walked out with less than a black-eye. I know my friends here wouldn't do that to me, but I'm still on Azimio and Karofsky's bad side. "_You can keep rocking the Gaga, and I'll back you all the way, but I'm not ready to do this."

"To do what, exactly? Is it the dressing up in front of everyone that scares you, or the coming out? Either way, you'll never be able to move on with your life if you let your nerves get in the way, Aaron." _Well that escalated quickly..._

"Don't blow this out of proportion, Kurt. I just don't want to dress like that. That's all."

"I think me and the guys can help with that." Puck suggested, coming over and leaning in close enough that I could feel his breath on my ear. "It's a secret plan though, so no telling Hummel," he mock-whispered.

"I'm right here, you know."

"Yeah, you're pretty hard to miss," Puck joked, tugging at one of Kurt's pointed shoulders lightly. "I'm gonna text it to him so you can't eavesdrop anyway." I took the hint and gave Puck my number, eager to find a way out of dressing like Lady Gaga. After entering my digits he took off, leaving me and Kurt to walk to the parking lot by ourselves.

"What do you think the boys are up to?"

"I have no idea, but if it gets me out of doing Gaga I'm happy." I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket as I headed to my truck. "See you tomorrow, Kurt."

"Bye, Aaron." As Kurt and I headed for our respective rides I pulled out my phone to check the new message.

-Hey, this is Puck.-

-Hey, Puck. What's this big plan?- I texted back as I sat in my truck. _Not driving, of course. It's already hard enough to convince dad to let me drive, I don't need to call any attention to myself by texting and driving._

-Finn got us thinking about what we could do besides that Gaga crap that would still be creative. We're gonna do KISS.- _Not a bad choice. It gets them into makeup and crazy outfits but it's still totally masculine. -_You in?-

-This sounds way better than Lady Gaga but I still don't think I can do it.- _I'm just not ready to be so in-your-face yet. I don't think I'm anywhere near confident enough, or experienced enough for that matter._

-You sure? It's gonna be awesome.-

-The whole dressing up thing still makes me pretty uncomfortable.-

-Then don't worry about it, dude. You can be an honorary member or something until you're ready to rock out with us.-

-Thanks.-

* * *

Their chance to perform as Kiss rolled around in no time. Finn, Artie, Mike, and Puck had the hair, the makeup, the high heels, and the studded black outfits to perfectly play their roles. _I wonder if they bought those or if one of them is secretly a genius costume designer..._ The song of choice was Shout It Out Loud, and boy were they ever loud. Volume aside, I was just as impressed as I was for the girls' Gaga number.

"Why didn't you do Kiss with the rest of the boys, Aaron?" Mercedes asked after they headed offstage to get cleaned up. "Are you really gonna sit out all week?"

"I don't want to just sit out, but I still don't think I can do it."

"Can't do what?" Santana chimed in. "Sing? Wear clothes? Dance?"

"It's more than that, Santana."

"No, it really isn't. The sooner you learn that, the sooner you can get your head out of your ass and learn to have some fun with the rest of us."

"She's right. You've got to step up your game, white boy_."_

_"_I'll think about it tonight."

I walked back to my locker alone, replaying this week's events in my head. _I got offered help to do Gaga. Turned it down and missed out on a fun performance. I got offered help to do Kiss. Turned it down and missed out on a fun performance. I'm not liking this pattern._ I grabbed my history book and shoved it into my backpack. _I'll think later, dad's waiting for me. _I turned around and closed my locker, suddenly noticing Azimio and Karofsky approaching from both sides of me, slushies in hand. _Oh hell, why now?!__  
_

"Hey, guys. I'd love to stay and chat, but my ride is here." Neither replied, still menacingly closing in. _I could make a break for it and only get one slushie, but they could easily stop me if they make any contact. Don't think we could talk this one out._ Sighing in aggravation, I quickly opened my locker and threw my backpack and my jacket in. "Let's get this over with, guys." Bracing myself could never have prepared me for the rush of ice-cold that hit from both sides. _FUCK that's cold! _I immediately went to rub my eyes, not seeing Azimio's hand as it shoved my head into the locker. My cheek collided with the lock and I bit my lip in surprise.

"Don't fuck with us again, freshman." I held back all the insults I knew they deserved and reopened my locker in quiet defeat, pulling my wet shirt off and slipping into the warm dry hoodie. I had never been so happy to see my dad waiting for me outside the school as I neared him and his cop car

"Shit, Aaron. What the hell happened to you?" Dad asked sternly as I plopped into the passenger seat. "You're sticky and bleeding."

"And not the fun way..." I mumbled.

"Aaron." _Shit, that's his cop-voice. No jokes today... _"Do I need to call some jackass kid's parents?"

"No. It's like you always say, dad; karma's a bitch. I've had this coming for a long time now." Dad sighed and put the car in drive.

"I knew telling those kids you were gay would be more trouble than it was worth." I just looked out the window, not bothering to tell him that this happened _before_ they knew.

* * *

* One more chapter of Theatricality, then we jump straight to Regionals. Hope you're enjoying the story! *


	7. Coming Out

7: Coming Out

After a lengthy talking-to from my dad about bullying and a long shower to get the slushie out of my hair_,_ I grabbed an ice pack for my cheek and headed to my room. _I'll worry about the bullies later. Right now they're the last thing I want to be thinking about. I need to think about what's wrong with me in glee first. _I absent-mindedly shuffled through my iTunes library, scanning the images for ideas that would still be theatrical without being so outrageous. _Kurt and the girls have really been going all out this week to show that they can be creative and theatrical and confident. Hell, even the guys put on the makeup and heels and rocked out like they couldn't care less about looking so weird._ _So what's stopping me? _I sighed wearily, contemplating all the reasons why I couldn't dress up and perform. _Wait..._

"I don't think I even have any reasons," I said to myself, deciding to from a mental checklist to figure this out._ Costume: Carol could sew it for me. Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina would be happy to help if she didn't want to. Performance: I'm a pretty good singer, what's there to worry about? Reputation: already in the toilet, so again, nothing to lose. Might get bullied more, but I can handle it. Confidence... _I turned to look at my mirror, focusing on the deep brown eyes staring back at me. _I've been unhappy with who I am for too damn long... Being a total dick didn't work for me, but this whole insecure thing isn't helping either. I have to start being someone worthwhile..._ "Wow, Mulan much?" I laughed to myself.

My phone buzzed from its position on my desk with a text from Artie. "Thank god, a distraction from this stupid internal monologue." _But I'm still talking to myself..._

-You sure we can't convince you to do Kiss with us tomorrow? They had other band members too, so don't worry about repeating any of us. We'd love to have you.-

-Thanks Artie. I appreciate the offer, but I think I finally know what I need to do- _It's not as makeup-heavy as Kiss, and not as eccentric as Gaga, but it should still work.-_

-No problem. We freshmen have to look out for each other, right? See you tomorrow, and good luck with whatever you decide.-

As soon as I closed my phone I headed down the hall and knocked on my sister's door. "Hey Carol, could you drive me to Great Clips or something later? I need to do something with my hair by tomorrow and I don't think mom or dad would really understand." Carol opened her door, looked at my hair, then looked at me.

"What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time, little brother?" she asked, pointing out my bruised cheek.

"It's nothing... dad already knows. Look, I just need to change my hair before school tomorrow. And I need to swing by a couple stores to make a new outfit. Also, I need you to help me make a new outfit."

"Making a drastic statement, are we?" Carol joked, still looking a little worried about my current battered condition.

"Yeah, that's why I asked you and not mom or dad."

"Ooh, we've got ourselves a rebel... I'll do it, but you're paying for gas and supplies."

So several hours later, we had planned out the hair, the makeup, the outfit, and the song I would sing at glee the next day. I was ready to face my insecurities head on. _Not like I could back out now anyway, I already bleached my hair..._

* * *

I walked into school Friday morning feeling ready to take on anyone. My hair was cut short and bleach-blonde, my eyes were lined in black, and my outfit looked damn close to the real thing. _The bruise and the cut lip actually improve the look, I think. _I found my seat next to Rachel in our first period class, noting the significant upgrade in her gaga outfit.

"That's a really great dress, Rachel. You make that yourself?" Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Aaron, I almost didn't recognize you with the blonde hair. My Chemical Romance?"

"Yeah, The Black Parade is one of my favorite albums and I knew it was a theatrical look I could work with." _The marching band uniform was the hardest part to re-create, but Carol was a big help there._

"And the bruise?"

"Makeup." Rachel leaned in to inspect it. "My sister's pretty good with makeup."

"It's very convincing, but I thought you weren't going to participate in this week's assignment."

"I wasn't at first, but when will I ever find the courage to come out of the closet if I can't be brave enough to dress up for glee club?"

"You're gay?"

"Yep. Still weird hearing it out loud though..."

"Well I'm very proud of you for coming out, and I'm sure the rest of glee will be too. Does anyone else know?"

"I've only told Kurt and Mercedes. I think I'm gonna tell everyone else today after I sing." Rachel nodded. _Even though my dad still thinks it's a terrible idea. But he thinks it already happened, so what harm could it do now?_

"I'll be looking forward to it."

* * *

"Hey, Santana," I started, taking a seat next to her at the lunch table. "I have a favor to ask you."

"Does it involve sex?" _I wish..._

"No sex."

"Does it at least involve payback for those bruises? Don't tell me they're makeup, I'm not an idiot." _At least I've fooled everyone else so far. Or, at least they didn't bring it up if they did figure it out._

"No payback either."

"How boring," Santana sighed dramatically. "Fine, but you'll owe me later."

"Thanks."

"What do you need?"

"I need to borrow a few Cheerios for my performance later. Maybe six or eight?" She raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"I was expecting this to involve Puck, but with MCR and cheerleaders there's really only one thing you could be planning. Lucky for you, we've got gas masks left over from an old routine Coach Sylvester had us learn last semester." _Weird, but convenient._ "I'm sure they're better dancers than you, so just let them do their thing."

"That's it?''

"Yeah."

"That was a hell of a lot easier than I thought it would be. But what did you mean when you said you were expecting it to involve Puck?"

"Oh please, you've been ogling that fine piece of ass all week. Don't think I haven't noticed, junior; I been keeping my eye on you."

"I haven't been staring... And how did you know I was gay?"

"Well, other than all that staring, you just told me." I started to deny it, but cut myself off. _Old habits die hard, I guess._

"Okay, that was clever. I'll admit that I think he's hot, but I haven't been staring at him."

"Whatever you say."

* * *

I had run into all of the glee kids by the end of the day, so the shock value of seeing my Black Parade outfit and bruise "makeup" was lost when I entered the auditorium.

"I'm glad to see you embracing this week's assignment, Aaron."

"Thanks, Mr. Schuester. I've got a song prepared, so I'll get started whenever you guys are ready."

"Go for it." _Okay, Aaron, you can do this. You know the song. You've got the angst. You dyed your hair._ I let out a nervous breath as the band started up. _You're ready. _I motioned for the band to start up and headed over to the mic stand.

"They're gonna clean up your looks  
With all the lies in the books  
To make a citizen out of you  
Because they sleep with a gun  
And keep an eye on you, son  
So they can watch all the things you do"

At the end of my line, the Cheerios came out from behind the curtain, gas masks and all.

"Because the drugs never work  
They're gonna give you a smirk  
'Cause they got methods of keeping you clean  
They're gonna rip up your heads,  
Your aspirations to shreds  
Another cog in the murder machine

"They said all teenagers scare the living sh- out of me  
They could care less as long as someone'll bleed  
So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose  
Maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me

Ohhh yeah!"

I moved back to dance with a few of the girls during the instrumental break before I had to return to vocals, enjoying this performance way more than I had expected.

"Teenagers scare the living sh- out of me  
They could care less as long as someone'll bleed  
So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose  
Maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me."

The glee club applauded, forcing a smile onto my face. The Cheerios left before I could thank them, but that didn't surprise me. Other than the ones in the glee club none of the Cheerios liked us.

"Great job, Aaron. I felt the emotion in your voice, but what did your song choice represent?" Mr. Schuester inquired.

"Well, like the song says, teenagers scare me," I admitted. "I did some thinking, and I think I was just too afraid of being embarrassed to join in earlier this week. Teenagers are violent, they're judgmental, and they're melodramatic. I finally get that there's no point in worrying about that, because it just doesn't matter. Plus, kids will never not be jerks, so I might as well not let it worry me what people that I don't care about might think." _Deep breath. _"Which is why I'm also taking this time to tell you all that I'm gay." I noticed a few proud smiles and a few confused looks among the other gleeks. _Nothing outright negative though; I call that a win._

I headed into the crowd to chat and generally hang out before we would head back to the choir room. Mr. Schuester patted me on the back for being brave and coming out despite knowing us for less than two weeks. Kurt commented on my outfit, impressed by the skill with which Carol had put it together. Finn seemed a little speechless, but not in a bad way. Puck, without word or warning, pulled me away from the group after I noticed him talking to Santana. _God I hope she didn't mention the staring... which I'm sort of starting to notice now that she brought it up._

"It was cool of you to offer to talk to me when I need to, and I'm glad you did, so I'm doing the same for you now. What happened yesterday?" Puck asked, taking me just out of range from the group so they wouldn't hear us.

"What do you mean?"

"I talked to Santana," Puck said as he reached out to touch the bruise, causing me to flinch away slightly. "Azimio and Karofsky, right?"

"Yeah."

"You wanna go beat them up? I've been waiting for an excuse to kick their asses," Puck commented. "There's no way they could take both of us."

"I can take care of myself, but thanks anyway Puckerman. I'd rather just go home and play Halo or something. You can come too if you want; we've got a pretty big TV and a ton of snacks_._"

"Mind if I bring Finn and Mike too? Since Matt left we've been looking for a fourth for our Halo games."

"Go ahead. I don't mind having a few more players to beat."

"You think you can beat me?" Puck asked with a raised eyebrow and a cocky tone.

"It's really not so much "think" as "know," but yeah. You're going down, tough guy."

"In your dreams." _I wouldn't mind Puck going down in my dreams..._ _damn, I think I'm staring again..._

* * *

* Alright, next stop: regionals. After that this story will hit a few major points over the summer, then start in on season 2. Romance isn't too far off now (still debating whether to go with T or M rating once it picks up. Any preferences/requests?). I'll try to keep updating regularly, but college always finds a way to throw off my schedule.

As usual, I hope you're enjoying the story! *


	8. Regionals

8: Regionals

_Where did the time go?_ I stood backstage at the 2010 Midwest Regional Championships, suddenly feeling like this whole experience was a huge mistake. _ I could have sworn I'd just joined glee yesterday, and now we're already competing for our club's survival? If Coach Sylvester could spare some of her ridiculous budget maybe we wouldn't have to worry about losing everything if we don't place._ I took a deep breath and tried to relax. I_ guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if we lost, but oddly enough, I really like the glee club. We're a weird group, but it works, and I really love all my new friends.__ I wonder if we'll all stay in touch if glee ends?_ My eyes wandered from friend to friend before finally settling on Puck; a habit I'd finally come to terms with. _I don't want to lose everyone so soon._

"I'm not sure I'm ready for this," I mumbled, hoping for some way out of performing. _Maybe if I just back away slowly no one will notice that I'm gone..._

"Quit whining, Lewis. You're gonna be great," Puck assured me.

"Color me surprised, but he's right for once," Kurt added, stepping forward for a comforting hug and a quick adjustment to my hair. "You've been great at every rehearsal, Aaron. You've got this."

"Thanks, but that's all practice. This is real. If we screw up here we lose glee... I don't want to ruin this for all of you."

"You're pretty nervous aren't you?" Puck inquired.

"Yeah, but I know I shouldn't let that stop me. I'm number twelve; you guys need me here."

"Well, if you get too freaked out on stage just try picturing me in my underwear." _A little late for that suggestion... _

"Isn't it supposed to be the audience that I picture naked?"

"Why bother with the audience when I'm here?" _Point taken... _Hoping to avoid an erection-on-stage crisis, I focused on the group behind Puck to keep my thoughts off him in little to no clothes. Rachel and Finn looked like they were having a heartfelt conversation, probably to confess their love for each other, or something equally nauseating. The Cheerios were standing near a set of mirrors; Quinn and Brittany were checking their makeup while Santana kept her attention on me and Puck. We made eye contact and she held her gaze. _I can't tell if she's plotting something or just smiling...__  
_

"Real tempting, but I think I'll gonna have to rain-check on the naked Puck." I rolled my eyes.

"Your loss." I shrugged my response, then headed across the backstage area to the Cheerios to get my answer from the (possibly) scheming girl. There was definitely a hint of mischief in her eyes, but that was nothing new.

"Hey, Santana, why were you-" My question was interrupted by a stagehand.

"New Directions, you're on," he informed before disappearing back to wherever he'd come from. Santana smiled that same smile from before as she took her place in the group. _Plotting. She's definitely plotting._ I moved into place, taking one last deep breath before we headed out onto the stage. _I'm actually getting pretty pumped for this now..._ I glanced around between my teammates, each one ready to win this. The bright lights burned my eyes, but I was loving the sudden rush of adrenaline and confidence as it finally sunk in that I was performing, and that if - no, when - we won, we'd qualify for Nationals. _This may be our first Regionals, but we're ready. There's no way we could lose now!_

* * *

After the initial shock of losing at Regionals had passed, the New Directions gathered again for one last meeting. Rachel thought it would be nice if we sang one last song for Mr. Schue before we spent the rest of our semester moping. Of course, once we found out that glee wasn't gone for good, this made it way easier to approach the remaining school days. You see, Principal Figgins had been kind enough - for some reason - to let us have another year of glee, but without any other competitions for us this year the club's activities had still been suspended. Schue called one final meeting after our last "final meeting" to give us the good news and sing us his own farewell. _Still sad, but infinitely better than the first. _Once he and Puck were done with Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Mr. Schuester had to leave to take a phone call, so the rest of us took the time to plan our next gathering.

"My house. Friday after next," Puck declared. "I'll supply some booze, but don't expect me to handle everything." _Aren't we a little young for a party like that? If not as a whole, at least Artie, Tina, and I are.  
_

"I'm sorry, but this is glee club, not a college fraternity," Rachel retorted. "Taking the club outside the school is not an excuse to drink. Besides the obvious issue with your logic, since when are you the captain?"

"Take it easy, Berry. I'm just tossing out ideas."

"Well no one asked you." _I guess she's still pretty worked up about us losing..._ "Does anyone have a better idea?"_  
_

_"_We could use my place next week," Artie offered. "My parents won't mind if we sing, and I've got plenty of space and snacks."

"Thank you Artie." Rachel's eyes lit up like they always did when she had a plan. "Every week we'll go to a new house. The week's theme will be chosen by the host or hostess as incentive to have us at their house. Sound good to everyone?" The room stayed silent. "Good. Anyone want week two while we're on the topic of planning?"

"I'll take the week after that," Mercedes answered. "My parents should be fine with it, and there's no way I'm passing up a chance to pick the assignment."

"Thanks, guys." Finn stood up, turning to face all of us like he, Rachel, or Schue did every-so-often when they felt it necessary to give us a sappy speech, or to keep us motivated. "I know this isn't really normal, but when have we ever been? Deep down, I know this club means something special to every one of you, and I know we'll find ways to stick together. It's been really great to be with all of you. We'll make it to Nationals next year." And with that, the New Directionsofficially disbanded for the year, paving the way for our house-hopping glee substitute. When the rest of us began to shuffle out of the choir room, Kurt held me back to talk in peace. _He's probably already got a few ideas for an assignment for us._

"What are you gonna do if you host the group?" I asked Kurt, hoping to get some ideas of my own for the glee club. _This could actually be pretty fun._

"I hadn't thought about it yet." _Wow, that's genuinely surprising..._ "Hey, do you maybe want to go see a movie later?"

"Sure. I think Tina and Artie wanted to see Iron Man 2. You want me to text them, see if they're free to hang out too?"

"Actually... I was sort of hoping it would just be the two of us." Kurt replied hesitantly. I froze.

"You mean... like a date?"

"Yeah. Like a date." I hadn't expected Kurt to say it, but it didn't really surprise me either. Other than the two of us, no one at McKinley had come out yet. Plus I had already joined the same club as him by his own suggestion. We had classes together, we spent a lot of our time after school together; honestly, there was no way he wasn't going to consider it. I know because I'd already considered it too. Yeah, I could say yes, and I'm sure it would be pretty fun while it lasted, but I just didn't feel that way about Kurt and there was no way I was going to use him._ Now I've gotta find a way to say no that doesn't ruin our friendship._

"Kurt, you're great, but-" _He's already tearing up. Damn it.  
_

"But no, right?" _And cue the vocal tremble..._

"Kurt, it's not-"

"Don't give me the "it's not you, it's me" speech, Aaron. It's me. I get it. Say no more."

"Kurt-"

"Seriously, I get it. Why should I have expected any different?"

"Shut up!" I blurted out before he could cut me off again. Reluctantly, Kurt did as instructed. "Look, Kurt... You're good-looking, you're incredibly talented, and you dress better than anyone I've ever met. Don't get down on yourself about this; you did nothing wrong. I just want to be with someone who I can... I dunno... relate to better, I guess."

"We're both in glee, and we're both gay."

"I joined glee because you guys were desperate. Other than a love of men, we don't have any hobbies in common. I play football, I fish, I camp, I hike. You're not an outdoorsy/sportsy kind of guy, and there's nothing wrong with that." I took Kurt's hand. "But I am, and I don't want to start anything that I know won't work. I don't want to lead you on, and I'm sorry if that's what's been happening."

"How do you know it won't work if you don't even try?"

"Kurt..." He paused before pulling his hand away, the look in his eyes making it clear that he understood.

"I know. I just figured that if Rachel Berry of all people could land a boyfriend, why couldn't I?"

"You will someday. We both will." The moment was interrupted by an unexpected buzzing from my pocket. _Looks like a new text from Puck._

-Hey, partys still on for next friday. I'll see you there.- _Guess that saves me the trouble of saying yes._ I put my phone back and looked up to Kurt.

"Puck says the party's still on. I'm sure you're still invited if you want to go."

"Right..." I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just nodded. "So... you into anyone else too, or just Puck?"

"I, uh... no. Just him."

"And you know he's straight, right?"

"Of course I do; he'll brag about his love-life to anyone who'll listen... But he's just so damn gorgeous, and he's a really good guy deep down. You know, other than being a cocky man-whore." I earned a small chuckle and the beginnings of a smile from Kurt. "Are we gonna be okay, Kurt?"

"Yeah."

* * *

*wow, sorry this one took so long. I was busy with midterms. I'll try to be more regular about updates now. as for the story, there's a few more chapters before summer, but the romance should hit within the next few chapters. as always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. *


	9. Truth or Dare

9: Truth or Dare

Our makeshift glee was now two weeks in and we'd done pretty well considering our circumstances. We didn't have a location, a faculty sponsor, or a live band to weirdly know every song we want to sing in advance. We solved the location issue during our last official meeting, so that that wouldn't be a big deal. Artie solved the band situation with a karaoke machine; it wasn't the same, but it got the job done. And not having Mr. Schuester around, though a little depressing at first, meant that we were free to sing songs that weren't school appropriate without getting in trouble.

Once we had all of that sorted out, our two weeks were pretty bearable. Artie's theme was boy bands, followed by Mercedes' pick the week after: ballads. Rachel applauded Mercedes' choice, but only so that they could spend the whole week trying to one-up each other. I didn't go out of my way to get a solo, electing to spend my time trying to corner Santana and make her tell me what she was up to, if anything. Naturally, she evaded me perfectly everyday until the day of Puck's party. That was the day she went out of her way to talk to me instead.

"So," she started casually, "Puck's party is tonight."

"First time in two weeks you talk to me and you tell me something I already know."

"You'll be there."

"And there's something I didn't know."

"Oh please, was there even a remote chance you'd sit out a party that Puck invited you to?"

"Yes, actually. My dad doesn't want me partying anymore. What am I supposed to tell him?"

"The truth. You'll be with the _glee club. _What kind of trouble could you possibly get in?" _She's got a point._

"Thanks, but I don't really like parties anyway. What does it matter to you if I go or not?" Santana's devious grin returned.

"I lent you Cheerios for your little MCR number. Don't forget that you still owe me."

"The favor is me going to the party?"

"No, but you're going to have to be there to do it."

"And what exactly _is_ it?" Rather than giving me an answer, she winked, laughed, and walked away. _It's girls like her that make glad I'm gay._

* * *

Dad dropped me off at the party an hour late. It would have been sooner, but dad spent forty-five minutes telling me that I needed to stay out of trouble and that he wasn't relocating for me again. He finally relaxed when I told him it was just a get-together with the glee club. I texted Puck to let him know I was here, assuming that no one would hear the doorbell over the loud music in there. Needless to say, dad did not look happy about the music.

"If there's even one noise complaint from this party you're grounded for a week," dad warned through the car window as he pulled away. _Why couldn't dad have been an accountant instead of a cop?_

"Everything okay?"

"Dad says to keep the music down." Puck grimaced comically at my comment, but I knew he'd do it anyway.

"Remind me why I'm friends with a cop's son."

"I have no idea, dude."

His house looked about how I had expected it to: already littered with cups, bottles, and glee clubbers. The music pulsed loudly, but Puck assured me that it wasn't loud enough to upset the neighbors. I turned it down a few more levels just to be safe. From there, the party went like they always do. Some drinking, some dancing, some sloppy singing. For the first hour I was there we kept an eye out for Kurt, Mercedes, and Artie, but they never showed. Quinn flat-out refused to come, so it was no big shock that she never showed up. After we finally gave up on the no-shows, Puck decided it was time to do something as a group.

"Alright everybody, we're playing Truth or dare," he suggested, corralling us into a circle in his basement. I never liked Truth or Dare, but I decided to humor him and try to enjoy myself. We all took a seat on the ground; I sat between Brittany and Mike. "I'll go first, since it _is_ my party." He looked around, scanning the group for a worthy victim. "Rachel. Truth or Dare?"

"I'm not going to play, I just want to make sure Finn stays out of trouble."

"Ats alright, Rach," Finn uttered, doing his best to reassure her. "You can just watch me all night if thas what you wanna do." Rachel looked at Finn, frowned, then turned to Puck.

"Dare," she answered with an unexpected resolve. _And here we have it: peer pressure at its finest... Still, I never expected Rachel to give in so easily._

"I dare you to drink every time someone else picks dare."

"Fine." Rachel took Finn's cup from him, earning a weak whine from him in return. "Finn. Truth or Dare?"

"Dare..." Rachel took her first tentative drink.

"I dare you not to drink alcohol for the rest of the time we're here." _And that would be why she didn't refuse to play. Now she doesn't have to spend the whole night worrying about him. Plus, this shifts the worry to her, thereby passive aggressively punishing Finn. How is every girl in this club so devious?  
_

"Ugh, fine." Finn spent no time deliberating, choosing Mike in seconds. After that, I sort of lost interest and zoned out.

Mike chose dare. _I can't believe I'm already bored. This is why I hate Truth or Dare... _Rachel took a drink. Finn dared Mike to switch shirts with Tina. _It's just a stupid game where you let people invade your privacy. _Mike complied, and Tina was a good sport about it too, seeming to enjoy that Mike's eyes lingered a little too long on her bra. _I don't even like parties; e__veryone always finds a reason to let the night devolve into pairs and everyone makes out. _Dare completed, Mike was left in a too-small sweater and Tina a baggy button-up. Next, Mike picked Brittany. _Am I really such an idiot that I'm seriously waiting for that chance to roll around with Puck? _While dare was the obvious choice - Rachel had even picked up her cup in preparation - Brittany picked truth. _I can't let myself keep clinging to this fucking pathetic crush. _Mike asked Brittany who was the best kisser in the room. _I think I'm just gonna go. I mean, even Rachel is having more fun than me. _Brittany's answer was the same as her pick for the next turn: Santana.

"I pick... Aaron," Santana announced. The mention of my name snapped my attention back to the room. All eyes were on me. "Truth or Dare?"_ Shit._ I wanted to leave, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I couldn't bring myself to miss out on that impossible chance at Puck. _God,_ _I can't fucking believe myself..._

"Dare," I sighed in defeat, knowing all too well that hormones had beaten logic yet again.

"I dare you to... kiss Puckerman." _And there it was. The moment I've been waiting for had come at last. She lined up the perfect shot for me. _My eyes met Puck's; he looked confused and uncomfortable, like he didn't want any part of this. _Does she really think that this is right? An obligatory kiss with an unwilling target in a crowded room full of drunk kids?_ I looked at Santana in disbelief._  
_

"No."

"You have to. That's like, the only rule this game has."

"So pick somebody else." I grabbed my hoody and walked outside, not waiting for a reply or permission. I headed up the stairs and straight out the door, slowing down once I was outside. _ She's not stupid enough to think that it would work out_ _well... _I sat down on Puck's front lawn, leaning back against his house._ It was a joke, wasn't it?_ _Santana just wanted to see me get rejected._ I sighed, feeling like the biggest idiot in Ohio for not seeing it sooner. _It had to be a joke...  
_

"You okay?" Puck asked, closing the door behind him_. Of course it's Puck. Why is it always Puck?_

"Yes... No... I just don't like parties."

"So why did you come?"

"I thought this one would be better since you guys are my friends... most of you, anyway."

"Santana?" I nodded. "That's just how she is. She's not plotting against you or anything, she just does what she feels like doing._" _My phone vibrated; 1 new message from Santana Lopez._  
_

- Hey, sorry I freaked you out, but my psychic mexican third eye is never wrong. -

- It was this time. Your plan sucked. -

- That's because it's not done yet ;) - _Oh fuck... This much stress and she's not even done?  
_

"Hey, sorry I ruined your party."

"Don't be. The party was over the second Rachel made Finn stop drinking. If we could have gotten one more beer in him he'd be hilarious. But no. Berry stopped him at confused-drunk." Puck stood up, offering his hand to help me off the ground. "Come on. Party or not, we should go back inside."

The two of us made our way to the couch. Chips and controllers at the ready, we turned on the TV and started Call of Duty. Tina and Mike wandered over after the first match and grabbed the extra controllers. At first I was bummed to be on Tina's team instead of Puck's when we split up, but she turned out to be incredible at this game; way better than any of the rest of us. Santana and Brittany joined in as color commentary a few matches later, over-dramatizing each bullet fired and life lost like some crappy soap opera. The feeling snuck up on me, but I was having a great time. What had started decent and quickly gone downhill had actually become one of the best nights I could remember.


	10. Who'd Have Known?

10: Who'd Have Known?

Twenty minutes had passed since everyone else fell asleep. Eighteen minutes since I got bored and decided to start cleaning up to pass the time. _Staying busy always helps me keep my mind off my worries..._ _And by 'worries,'__ I of course mean Puck. _My eyes drifted over to where he was sleeping on the couch. _I can't believe I didn't kiss him when I had the chance. _I grabbed a grocery bag and proceeded to take the last of the cups and cans off the floor, shifting my focus back to the task at hand.

"You didn't have to clean up alone, you know…" Puck said as I picked up the last cup, apparently awake now.

"Would've been faster if you helped."

"You had it under control," Puck smiled as he stood up. He seemed a bit uneasy, but stable nonetheless; impressive considering how tired he sounded. "And now that this place is spotless I'm gonna go pass out in my own bed. Don't worry, I kept the couch warm for you," he laughed as he headed upstairs. I sighed, setting the bag on the ground and taking a few steps toward the couch.

"Get in his bed," Santana whispered, catching me off guard. "I'm cashing in that favor you owe me." I stopped short of arguing with her about how many things were wrong with this, deciding to humor her.

"What do you expect me to do then?" I whispered back, not thrilled that she was interfering _again_.

"Grow a pair, how about that? I'm not gonna hold your damn hand forever."

"Fine, but when this doesn't work out, you have to promise not to stick your nose in my business anymore."

"And when it _does_ work, you're gonna owe me another favor."

"Deal." _At this point, I think I'm mostly doing this to avoid staying down here with Santana... _I quietly followed Puck upstairs, easily moving past him unnoticed while he was in the bathroom. _Okay, time to do something incredibly stupid._

"Wish me luck," I whispered to Puck's empty room as I shucked off my pants and shirt and crawled into his bed, settling in under the covers and stretching out to take up as much of his queen size mattress as possible. "This is literally the worst idea I've ever had..."

Puck walked in a few minutes later in just his boxers and paused awkwardly at the foot of the bed. "Dude," Puck drawled with a slight whine in his voice. "What the fuck?" _Okay, excuse time..._

"I just cleaned up your whole party and you didn't lift a finger to help. I deserve the bed."_  
_

"Yeah, but I _own_ the bed. Get up."

"Can't hear you," I responded, dramatically stretching out and imitating a yawn. "I'm sleeping." Puck sighed, clearly too tired to figure out how to convince me to get up.

"Fine, whatever." He slid under the covers and laid next to me, facing away. _Knowing Puck, I should have expected him to get what he wanted anyway. But knowing my luck, something's gonna fuck this up soon.  
_

"You don't mind sharing a bed with me?"

"I don't have much choice, do I?" Puck put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me toward him. "You're just as stubborn as I am." I studied his expression and smiled. _Not that I'm not loving this, but I have to remember that he doesn't play for my team._

"You only did that to take up more of the bed than me, didn't you?" Puck nodded.

"Yeah, and if anybody happens to see us sharing a bed they'd better know who's the bitch." I squirmed away from him arm and sat up.

"Oh, there's no way I'm the bitch." In an instant Puck pinned my arms above my head and sat on my legs to hold me still.

"You were saying? Bitch?" Puck laughed, proud of his quick display of dominance. I could still smell alcohol on his breath, making me wonder if he would be like this with me if he hadn't been drinking. I rolled my eyes and looked away._ God I'm glad he's not sitting a few inches higher…_ I thought to myself as I did my best to will my developing erection away. He laughed again and rolled off me, luckily not noticing my, uh... _excitement_... in the process. We were still lying close enough that we were touching, but neither of us said anything for a while. I'd almost fallen asleep before he started talking again.

"So," Puck began, all the earlier playfulness gone from his voice. "What is this?"

"What's what?"

"Us. What are we doing?" I swallowed hard and froze. _And here's where everything goes south..._ I shuffled nervously under Puck's blankets, trying to distance myself from him. _What the fuck do I say? It's not like I can just tell him how incredible he looks, or how fucking irresistible I think he is when he sings… or even that I'm here because I owed Santana a favor._ "I'm getting mixed signals, Lewis. That, and you're in my bed."

"I didn't want to sleep on the couch with all our friends."

"Bullshit. If that's true it's not the real reason you're here." I just stared back. "You want me? Is that what this is?" _God damn you, Santana. I could have avoided this for at least a few more weeks.  
_

"No, I-" Puck surprised me by sitting up. He grabbed a football from the floor and tossed it into my lap.

"Honest or you're out." _Just like my icebreaker at the football field._ I begrudgingly sat up and rolled the ball in my hands, fidgeting to help me get past my nerves.

"You sure you want the truth Puck?" I exhaled, sounding shakier than I would have liked.

"No, but this isn't gonna go away if we ignore it," Puck sighed. The football tumbled down to floor, landing with a soft thud on the carpet below. _Doesn't look like I can put this off any longer, does it?  
_

"Okay fine. I think you're hot. I've been dying to get a taste of you for weeks now, but I didn't say anything because you're my friend. And, while I might've stood a chance at getting into your pants knowing how much you love sex, I wasn't about to fuck up our relationship with a meaningless, mind-blowing fling." _I can't believe I'm saying any of this..._ "Earlier when Santana dared me to kiss you I freaked out. I wanted to, but it was too sudden... I got into your bed to sleep though, I promise. I'm not here to sleep with you. Just to sleep." Puck kept his eyes on me, his face showing much less disgust than I'd expected._  
_

"So, you sure you're not interested in meaningless sex?" Puck asked, taking my hand and placing it on his chest. My eyes went wide. _Uh... I know he was drinking, but there's no way he's that drunk. He's not slurring, he walked up here fairly steadily... It may still be on his breath, but I don't even think he's tipsy anymore._ The thought that beer wasn't playing any part in this only confused me more.

"Of course I'm interested," I breathed, tracing my thumb across his nipple-ring before remembering to pull my hand back, "but you're straight. Why are you doing this?"

"So... what you're saying is that I can't get you to suck me off unless I go homo and date you?" He asked, disregarding my question. My jaw dropped.

"First of all, I totally knew you'd go there if we ever had this talk." _I can't believe we're having this talk._ "Second, no. Were you even listening to me? And third, you like women, not men."

"Shit..." Puck leaned back against his headboard casually, crossing his arms behind his head. "Guess I'll just have to go homo then," he smirked. _EXCUSE ME?!_

"You're gonna go what now?!"

"I don't wanna go public about this, but I'll go out with you if that means you'll take it up the ass, or blow me, or whatever you had in mind." _Okay, WOW. Santana may have been serious earlier, but this has got to be some kind of a joke at my expense. He knows I'm into him and he's just rubbing it in.  
_

"I swear if this is a joke I'm gonna kick your ass, Puckerman."

"Relax, it's not a joke." I searched his eyes for any hint of deceit, but he looked sincere behind his smug facade. _How can he be so casual about this? He's offering a relationship - not to mention sex - like it's a piece of gum or something..._

"You do realize going out with someone involves feelings too; it's about more than sexual favors."

"Yeah."

"...And?"

"And I'll do my best, okay? I'll even give being faithful a shot if you want," Puck suggested. _Un-fucking-believable. He's really being serious.__  
_

"That would be preferable…" I replied slowly, still completely in shock. "Seriously though, are you sure this is what you want? This is kind of a big leap to take just to get me to blow you. Or take it up the ass, I guess…" _How are we even talking about this right now?! Ten minutes ago I'd have thought he'd punch me in the face if I brought up anything half this intimate._

"It's weird, but I get the feeling it would be worth it. Besides, you're a great friend and I really like hanging out with you; you went out of your way to ask me how I felt when none of my other friends cared enough to try. This could work." My cheeks felt hot; I knew I was blushing and I knew from his grin that he could tell.

"Or this could be awful and ruin everything."

"Yeah, but I know you're gonna beat yourself up about this forever if you don't go for it while you have the chance." _He's got me there. I can either choose to date my hot best friend who may or may not want this in the long run or pass it up and always wonder if it could have worked._ I shook my head, still incapable of understanding how we got to this point.

"Okay, Puckerman... I legitimately cannot believe I'm saying this, but you've got yourself a boyfriend."

"Alright!" Puck pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged him back instinctively, doing my best to wrap my tired mind around what was happening. "Now, what are the odds of you getting me off tonight?" He whispered in my ear. _And there goes the moment._

"Not likely." I protested weakly, sliding under the covers to emphasize my point while also getting some distance from him. "I need to get to sleep."

"Come on, not even a quickie?"

"No," I turned around to lay facing the wall. "Sorry. We need to make sure we both still want this in the morning." Puck slid in a few seconds later and put his arms around me, his chest pressed up to my back.

"And you're sure I can't change your mind?"

"Yes, Puck."

"Fine," he sighed. "Goodnight." And with that, I had fallen asleep in Puck's arms.

* * *

*ladies and gentlemen... the romance has begun. as always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter*


	11. Morning After

11: Morning After

I woke up around noon, almost completely underneath a still-sleeping Puck. As much as I was loving the feel of his skin and the soft beat of his heart above me, I needed breakfast and my friends probably needed a push to get up and moving. _That, and I need to make sure nobody catches us like this. _Careful not to wake Puck up, I snuck out from under him and off his bed. _Okay, where the hell did I leave my shirt?_ I scanned the floor of his room, not seeing my shirt anywhere. _I guess I'll just wear one of Puck's shirts. That's not too suspicious, right?_

"Morning, babe," Puck called from the bed. "Going somewhere?"

"I thought I'd be responsible for once and start waking up our friends. Wanna help?" I glanced back to Puck after sliding on a plain black shirt from his dresser. He was laying back with his hands behind his head staring at the ceiling.

"Lame," he yawned. "Come back to bed." I leaned over the edge of the bed and kissed him, taking advantage of his momentary surprise by sneaking in some tongue. Just when he really started to get into it I pulled back and stood up, grinning contentedly._  
_

"I'll see you downstairs." I ambled out of Puck's bedroom and down a few stairs before realizing that I was still just in my boxers. _Shit._ _Okay, pants… Need pants to talk to friends._

"Back so soon?" Puck teased. "I knew you'd couldn't resist me; one taste and you're already hooked." I searched everywhere again, but came up empty once more.

"I guess it was pretty good." _Who am I kidding? That kiss was incredible and he's barely even awake. Who knows how good he'll be once he's fully cognizant._

"Can't fool me, Lewis. You loved it."

"Whatever you say, Puckerman." I searched everywhere for my shorts, but came up empty once more. "You mind if I borrow a pair of your shorts too?"

"What happened to yours?"

"I dunno. Must've taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque," I mumbled as I picked out a pair of blue basketball shorts from a low drawer to complete my borrowed outfit. _At least I didn't need his boxers too..._ My eyes drifted over to Puck._ God, what I wouldn't give to get him out of his boxers... _I shook my head, pulling my thoughts from the gutter. "Okay, _now_ I'll see you downstairs." After my second - and finally successful - attempt at heading down to the basement, I began to rouse my classmates from their respective dazes. Finn seemed like he'd take the most time to recover, so I decided I should get him first.

"Where am I?" Finn asked groggily, slowly rubbing his eyes.

"You're at Puck's house," Rachel replied before I had the chance. I turned to face her, remembering that despite the dare, she had less than a cupful of beer last night. _She seems pissed, but what's new. That girl's as neurotic as she is talented._ "Come on; let's get you something to eat, Finn."

"There's cereal and fruit in the kitchen and I can make you some coffee if you want" I informed Rachel as I helped her lift Finn off the ground.

"Thanks."

"Once Finn's fully conscious tell him to get Puck started on some sausage and eggs or something. Puck's sober enough to be helping us."

"Well then why isn't he?" I dusted the back of Finn's shirt off before giving Rachel a knowing look.

"Think about who we're dealing with, Rachel." She smiled slightly.

"Right." Rachel headed upstairs with Finn, leaving me to my awakening duties. I moved on to Brittany and Mike next, both of whom got up and moving without too much trouble. I had Mike pick up Tina and carry her upstairs; she was already awake, but her hangover had her convinced that laying down forever was the best course of action. I had intentionally saved Santana for last, hoping for some privacy to talk to her about last night. Apparently Brittany had already woken her up, but she'd had the same idea anyway.

"You wouldn't happen to know where my clothes are, would you Santana?"

"Of course not, but the walk of shame look really suits you," Santana joked, eyes fixed on my outfit. "You should try it more often."

"Thanks, but nothing like that happened last night."

"I know you shared a bed with him, why not just go for it? You having second thoughts?"

"Trust me, I want it _bad_. I just don't think I'm ready yet."

"Don't be a wuss, it's just sex."

"Yeah, and I'm just _fifteen_. Not to mention the fact that my dad's a cop and Puck's... sort of a delinquent."

"How long until you turn 16?"

"Wow, you totally missed the point just now."

"What, that you're too busy clinging to your v-card like it's that piece of wood from the end of Titanic that you can't just do the dirty like you know you want to?"

"I'm not clinging, I just don't know if I'm totally ready. And don't compare me to Kate Winslet."

"I'll stop comparing you to women when you stop deserving it."

"And what about your plan?"

"Well, you may not have had sex last night, but you did get yourself a boyfriend."_ Crap,_ _Puck didn't want anyone to know yet..._

"What makes you think that?"

"I was listening." _Why did I expect any less from her?_ "Oh don't worry, I would have left before you two started anything. You know... probably."

"If this is how you are with your friends I'd hate to see how you treat your enemies..."

"Do you trust me?" _Well, she hasn't done anything terrible yet. And it was her that got me and Puck together..._

"You're a conniving bitch, but yeah. I guess I do trust you."

"Good, now what to do next..." Santana focused for a moment, running a few ideas through her mind. "Let me talk to Quinn first, then we can talk about getting you laid."

"What does Quinn have to do with any of this?"

"Hey," Puck shouted from the top of the stairs, "you two gonna spend all day down there or are you coming to breakfast?" _I guess Finn got him up already._

"We'll be up in a minute," I shouted back. "Seriously, Santana; what do you want with Quinn?"

"If you don't stop asking questions you'll never see your precious clothes again," she taunted, quickly heading upstairs. _I knew it!_

I followed her up the stairs to the kitchen where Puck had started sausage and eggs for anyone who wasn't already having cereal. Brittany was fervently trying to convince Rachel that being Jewish wasn't worth it if you had to miss out on bacon, and Finn and Tina seemed to recoil at her needlessly intense efforts. I grabbed a bowl, a box of Frosted Flakes, and some milk, deciding that instant food was better that waiting for a hot meal. I'd just taken a seat at the table when Puck swooped in to take the bowl and cereal away.

"No cereal for you," he announced. "Not until you taste my sausage." _Gotta love innuendo..._

"Well, you better get it in me soon. My mom's probably already on her way to pick me up."

"Don't worry. I'll get you taken care of."

* * *

As I'd expected, mom was already on her way. She was on her headset taking a call, so we didn't talk on the way home. I knew dad would have questions anyway, so I headed straight for the kitchen once I walked in; dad always spent the Sunday mornings he had off reading at the kitchen table.

"How was your party?" he asked.

"It was alright. I take it nobody called in about the noise?"

"Nope... where are your clothes?" _Oh right. I'm still in Puck's clothes.  
_

"They uh... my friend hid them."

"Why would your friend hide your clothes?"

"I have no idea. They were just gone when I woke up this morning." I took off Puck's shirt and tossed it into the washing machine, grabbing one of my own from a pile of clean laundry to replace it.

"What's that on your shoulder?" I glanced down, letting my eyes linger on the red mark I hadn't known was there. _Motherfuck... that must've happened last night...  
_

"Well it's obviously a hickey so I'm guessing the question was rhetorical?" I answered, feigning calm.

"Then I'm sure you can also guess that you're grounded for the rest of the school year."

"The rest of the school year?!" I shouted, quickly losing what little cool I had. _I knew he'd ground me, but for that long?_ "Dad, there's like a month left!"

"I'm well aware of that."

"So I'm just supposed to sit around the house for a month while my friends have fun without me?"

"You'll still see them at school."

"That's not the same and you know it."

"Well then maybe you should have been more responsible." I held back all my arguments, knowing there was nothing I could say that would make this any better. _If I hadn't been such a fuck-up back at my old school maybe dad would still trust me... _I trudged back to my room and flopped onto my bed. _Guess I should let someone know. _I grabbed my phone.

-Hey Kurt, I'm gonna have to miss glee at your house next week-

-You better have a damn good reason :( -

-I'm grounded for a month-

-A month? What the hell did you do to get your parents that mad?-

-Dad caught me with a hickey-

-From the party?-

-Yep-

-Maybe I should have gone after all, sounds like things got interesting-

-Yeah. Interesting. I'll tell you more when I see you at school tomorrow-

-Sure, see you then. I'll get the word out that you're missing glee-

-Thanks- _Alright; Kurt should be able to let everyone know in no time. I'd tell them myself, but Kurt's faster. I guess I should tell Puck myself though...  
_

-Hey Puck. I got grounded, so I'm gonna have to miss glee and our Halo meetups-

-That sucks! What happened?-

-Dad spotted a hickey on my shoulder. You wouldn't happen to know how that got there, would you?-

-That depends. You mad at me?-

-Sorta, but it'll pass.-

-Sorry- I heard a knock at my door as I read his response. _I hope that's not dad._

-Don't worry about it. You can make it up to me later, but I gotta go now-

-See you tomorrow- I looked back, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw that it was mom standing there.

"Can I come in, honey?"_  
_

"I guess." Mom took a seat on the edge of my bed, gently putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I know you're probably upset, but your father is just trying to keep you out of trouble."

"Well he's not. Glee's keeping me out of trouble..."

"I know honey. You've been so much happier since you started going to McKinley, and I know you've been keeping yourself out of trouble," she assured me, giving me a hug. "If you want to do something fun with your friends over the summer don't be afraid to ask. I'll make sure it happens for you."

"Thanks mom." She moved to the door, but hesitated to leave.

"I won't pry, but if you ever feel like bringing whoever gave you that hickey home for dinner I'd love to meet him."

"Maybe someday," I laughed. _Maybe someday..._


	12. Lake House

12: Lake House

The month I spent grounded was by far one of the most agonizing months I'd ever had. Not just because it was boring, or because I missed glee, or even that I missed my friends necessarily. It was the knowledge that I had an incredibly hot boyfriend but couldn't spend any time with him that killed me the most. Sure I could still text him and I still saw him in school, but it wasn't enough for me and I could tell as the weeks passed that he was getting anxious too. The sexual tension had been escalating between us, and I was shocked that no one had noticed yet. _Well, no one other than Santana who already knows and Kurt who I'm sure has probably figured it out already._

Quinn surprised us all on the last day of school by inviting the entire glee club - even Puck - on a trip up to her uncle's lake house for a few days. I jumped at the chance to get out of the house for a while, and mom convinced dad to let me go on the condition that I bring Carol along as a chaperone. I didn't mind bringing her along; Carol and I had always been really close. Plus we needed someone to drive the last car anyway.

* * *

The house was huge, done up in sort of a colonial style with white siding and dark blue shutters. Quinn told us there were six bedrooms inside, so we'd agreed to share rooms; Quinn and Santana room with Brittany, Rachel with Tina, Mercedes with Kurt, Finn with Mike, and Artie and Carol got the remaining rooms to themselves. That left Puck and I without a room, but I'd brought a tent for us instead.

"Okay, it's five o'clock, what do you guys wanna do first?" Finn asked the group, now standing with our bags admiring the house.

"It's a thousand degrees out and there's not a cloud in the sky; we could always go swimming," I suggested.

"Ugh, will you stop at nothing to get me out of my shirt, Lewis?" Puck complained sarcastically, already taking his shirt off.

"Admit it, Puckerman; it's my constant badgering that gets you through the day."

"Actually," Rachel intervened, "I was thinking before we did anything else we could start this vacation off with an assignment."

"And vacation's over," Mercedes sighed, walking her luggage back to the car.

"Thanks for the enthusiasm, but I thought maybe we could celebrate getting out of school by singing songs that Mr. Schuester wouldn't want us to sing in class. Something more adult."

"And vacation's back," Mercedes corrected, walking her luggage back toward the house.

"Girls, I've got a number planned already that will blow the boys out of the water. Carol, you're welcome to join us."

"Sure, why not? If my little brother can do it is must not be that hard," she answered casually, nudging me with her elbow.

"Back up, Rachel. When did this become a competition?" Finn asked, attempting to get a handle on the situation. "Shouldn't that be up to Quinn? I mean, it's her uncle's place after all."

"As much as I hate to agree with Rachel, I think it's a great idea," Quinn answered.

"Seriously?"

"Of course. I've got a lot of pent up aggression that I need to work out." _I'm pretty sure she just glared at Puck for like a millisecond._ "A little competition is just what the doctor ordered."

"Well then I guess it's settled; inappropriate songs week has begun. We'll push the competition back a few days to give us time to rehearse. How's Friday sound?"

"Sounds great, Finn," Rachel answered.

The group headed inside to unpack and check out the house, splitting up and wandering around once we entered. The house was just as impressive inside as it was outside; flatscreen tv, fully stocked fridge, and even a grand piano. _Yep, this is shaping up to be the best week ever..._

"Hey Aaron, can I talk to you alone for a second?" Kurt asked, making sure to stand exactly in the way of my view of Puck so I couldn't get distracted. _H__e knows me well._

"Sure thing, Kurt." We stepped outside to talk, feeling that our best chance of not being listened in on was to leave the house entirely. "What's on your mind?"

"Oh, not too much. Just wondering when you and the neanderthal are going to give up the charade and call it official."

"Call what official?" Kurt gave me his best 'are you fucking kidding me' look.

"Really? You're really doing this right now? And to me of all people?"

"Fine, yes. I'm dating Puck." _He's not gonna be happy that I admitted it, but it's not like Kurt hadn't figured it out anyway._

"As much as I hate to admit it, you two do make a pretty cute couple. Plus, now I have the privilege of living vicariously through you."

"If you tell anyone about us I'll deny it. Also, he'll toss your designer-clad ass into a dumpster."

"Whoa whoa whoa, no need to get crazy. Do you how hard it is to get garbage stains out of an Alexander McQueen silk chiffon scarf?"

"I just... Puck wants this to be just between us. Well, us and Santana, who, unfortunately, knows _everything_."

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed."

"Thanks."

"But still, who knew the big bad Puck was gay?"

"He's not."

"So he's bi?"

"Not exactly... I think they call it heteroflexibility or something, but the label doesn't really matter."

"Yeah, I guess not."

* * *

Rather than going for a swim, or even singing, the first thing we'd done as a group was sit down and play card games. We started with Phase 10, then moved on to Mao because all thirteen of us could play it at once. Around eight o'clock, Puck left the group to go practice a song he knew. At nine thirty he came back in with his guitar, saying he'd gotten the song down.

"I figured it should be me to start off our inappropriate song week. Nobody does inappropriate like the Bloodhound Gang, so I thought I'd get this assignment started with Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo." He sat back on a stool he'd grabbed from another room and started the song, accompanying with his guitar.

"Vulcanize the whoopee stick  
In the ham wallet  
Cattle prod the oyster ditch  
With the lap rocket  
Batter dip the cranny ax  
In the gut locker  
Retrofit the pudding hatch  
With the boink swatter

If I get you in the loop when I make a point to be straight with you then  
In lieu of the innuendo in the end know my intent though  
I Brazilian wax poetic so hypothetically  
I don't wanna beat around the bush

Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo  
Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo

Marinate the nether rod  
In the squish mitten  
Power drill the yippee bog  
With the dude piston  
Pressure wash the quiver bone  
In the bitch wrinkle"

"Okay, I'm drawing the line at _bitch wrinkle,_" Rachel interrupted, forcefully taking Puck's guitar from him. "This has gone on long enough."

"You wanted inappropriate, right?"

"Yes I made the mistake of suggesting it, but that was the single most disturbing song I've ever heard in my life. All in favor of changing the assignment to songs from the Disney Renaissance?" twelve hands went up in favor of the change, mine included. _Sure I love it when Puck talks dirty, but I've heard more slang terms for vagina in the past couple minutes than I'd hoped to hear in a lifetime..._

"Fine. I'll take it easy on your virgin ears." Puck took his guitar back from Rachel and headed outside. _I guess I should follow him?_ I passed a worried glance to Kurt, who motioned for the door. _Guess so. _I followed him out to the tent, where he was putting his guitar away._  
_

"You okay?" Puck stepped out of the tent, zipping it up behind him.

"Of course I'm okay," Puck grinned. "They made it further than I thought they would, but I knew they'd hate the song."

"You only sang that song to make them uncomfortable, didn't you?"

"Hey, Rachel's got to learn to be more specific with these assignments. I mean really, inappropriate songs? She should have known better."

"And now she's scarred for life," I laughed. "Okay, they're probably already doing their Disney karaoke by now, but I think now would still be a good time to swim if you're up for it. It's a nice night, and the moon's plenty bright for us to see out there."

"Still as relentless as ever to get me out of my shirt, huh?" he chuckled as he pulled his shirt off and grabbed his swimming trunks.

* * *

I headed back to the tent, ready to collapse after the last few hours spent swimming. After zipping the door behind me, I stripped off my wet trunks and pulled on a dry shirt and some boxer briefs.

"You know, there's no point in putting those on if we're just gonna have them off soon anyway?" I quickly glanced back, completely unaware that he'd even come in. "Nice ass, by the way." _Oh god, how long was he in here?_

"Sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

"No problem. Although, now that I've seen yours it's only fair that I show you something too." Without even a second of hesitation, he pulled his shorts off. "Now we're even." _H__e's... he's completely naked... _I found myself face-to-face with his erection, and I couldn't bring myself to look away. "Leaves you speechless, huh?" _There's no way I'm leaving this tent with my virginity... _"Well, if you're not gonna say anything we might as well find something else for your mouth do." He leaned in to kiss me, pushing forward until he had me on my back. I kissed back hard, losing myself in the feeling of his tongue and his hips. Puck pulled my shirt off easily, allowing our chests to meet.

"Hold on a second, Puck," I whispered, pulling back from him. He held himself up on his forearms, his expression an even mix of lust and worry.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just think we should wait a little longer before we have sex."

"Santana told me you said you wanted this." _Of course she did._

"Trust me," I rolled my hips upward, eliciting a low moan from Puck. "I do want this. What she neglected to tell you - which doesn't surprise me - is that I also told her I didn't think I was ready for sex yet."

"And you didn't think that was something you should tell me?"

"I sorta didn't think it was that important..."

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because the only part of me that I think isn't ready is my age. I don't want to lose my virginity until I'm at least 16." Puck thought to himself, trying to remember how many days that meant he had to wait.

"Hold on... isn't your birthday tomorrow?"

"Yep." He moved over to his bag and checked his phone for the time.

"It's 11:56."

"Yep..."

* * *

*Okay, I'm still not sure how far I want this story to go in terms of ratings... I know I'm close to the M rating already, but I don't know if I want to cross that line just yet. What do you guys think?*


	13. I Won't Say I'm In Love

13: I Won't Say I'm In Love

I woke up the next morning feeling like shit; the tent was too stuffy, the sun was shining right into my eyes, Puck was gone, I barely felt rested at all, and my ass was still sore. Despite all of that, I felt happier that morning than I think I ever had. _I've got a boyfriend who cares about me, I'm 16, I'm not a virgin anymore, and I'm on vacation with all of my friends at an awesome lake house. All I need now is some coffee and I'll be perfect._ I crawled my way out of the tent and stumbled into the house, hoping someone had started a pot already.

"Good morning guys," I yawned as I entered the kitchen. "Any coffee left?"

"Yeah, it's right on the counter. If you're hungry there's waffles and sausage made, eggs are in the fridge. Plenty of cereal too."

"Thanks, Quinn. Did I miss anything last night with the new assignment?"

"Not really," Artie commented. "After Rachel decided to change the assignment to the Disney Renaissance we didn't really talk about it."

"What exactly is the Disney Renaissance?"

"It's the Disney movies that came out around when our generation was young. The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, the Lion King, Pocahontas, Hercules, Mulan, Tarzan, and the Hunchback of Notre Dame."

"Rachel already claimed A Whole New World for her and Finn," Tina added. "I called Just Around The Riverbend already, and I think Artie mentioned doing something from Hunchback."

"Cool, I'm sure you guys are both gonna sound great." I poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed a lukewarm waffle from the stack. "Hey, has anyone seen Puck this morning? He was out of the tent when I woke up."

"Puck took off two hours ago," Quinn answered.

"What?" _Come to think of it, I guess I don't remember seeing any of his stuff in the tent when I woke up. _"We still have five days left with the house, why go home so soon?"

"I don't know, but he seemed really messed up. I figured if anyone would know it would be you. You two have been inseparable lately."

"He never mentioned leaving early..." I grabbed my phone and sent him a quick text.

-Hey, is everything alright?-

"You guys sure he didn't say anything?"

"Yeah. He got up, ate, and left."

"Weird..." _I'm sure he had a good reason. Puck wouldn't skip out on a nice vacation like this unless it was important... But then why didn't he tell me?_

* * *

-Seriously dude, are you okay? It's been two days. We're all worried about you-

I pressed send and slipped my phone back into my pocket, sprawling out on the grassy slope behind the house. It had been two days since Puck left without so much as a goodbye, and I was a little worried. _Yeah, worried that he left because I did something wrong._ I sighed, relaxing into the hillside. _Come on, Aaron. No need to think like that. You didn't scare your best friend away. Probably..._

"You text Puck again?" Santana asked as she headed down the hill to my position.

"Yeah. I'm sure I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but I feel like he only left because of something I did wrong."

"Of course he left because of you," she said bluntly, taking a seat next to me on the grass.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Santana. That's just what I needed to calm me down."

"Like it or not, it's the truth. He's told me a few times that he wasn't sure how he felt about dating a guy." _I always assumed that he was uneasy about it, but he never said anything or acted like it.  
_

"If it made him so uncomfortable to go out with me why did he keep doing it?"

"Puck's the kind of guy who never stops a relationship until after he knows how good the sex is."

"He left because I was awful. That's just fantastic." I sat up and turned to face her. "I know it was my first time, but was I really so terrible that he had to run back to Lima to get away from me?"

"If you were bad he would have stuck around to tell you so. He left because you were good." _Wait, what?_

"I don't understand."

"Of course you don't, but that's what you have me for," Santana bragged. "He wanted it to be shitty so he'd be able to think he was straight again, but you were a hell of a lot better than he expected."

"So he was looking for an excuse to break up with me?"

"Yes, but don't take that the wrong way."

"How can I _not_ take that the wrong way?"

"Deep down Noah really likes you, but you're screwing with his head."

"If it's that much trouble for him maybe we should just call it quits."

"Maybe you should, but you won't."

"Why not? He's stressed enough that he felt the need to run away, I feel like shit for doing this to him. What reason do I have to think this is a good idea?"

"You're in love with him."

"I think you need to get that psychic third eye of yours checked, Santana. I'm not in love with Puck."

"Come on," Santana stood, offering me a hand to help me up. "You can work on admitting it and do Rachel's stupid Disney assignment at the same time. If it doesn't help at least you'll have a good time singing, right?" I took her hand and pulled myself off the ground.

"I don't need to work on admitting anything. I'm not in love with him." _Probably._

"You are, but you won't _say_ you're in love with him. Which is why you'll be singing I Won't Say I'm In Love from Hercules."

"Okay, I'll admit that that song's a good fit for the situation, but what makes you think I'll actually do it?"

* * *

I stood before the glee club with Quinn, Santana, and Brittany behind me to sing back-up. _Why do I only perform with Cheerios? And more importantly, why do I always let Santana talk me into these things?_

"If there's a prize for rotten judgement  
I guess I've already won that  
No man is worth the aggravation  
That's ancient history, been there, done that!"

"Who'd'ya think you're kiddin'  
He's the Earth and heaven to you  
Try to keep it hidden  
Honey, we can see right through you  
Girl, ya can't conceal it  
We know how ya feel and  
Who you're thinking of"

"No chance, no way  
I won't say it, no, no"

"You swoon, you sigh  
why deny it, uh-oh"

"It's too cliche  
I won't say I'm in love

I thought my heart had learned its lesson  
It feels so good when you start out  
My head is screaming get a grip, girl  
Unless you're dying to cry your heart out"

"You keep on denying  
Who you are and how you're feeling  
Baby, we're not buying  
Hon, we saw ya hit the ceiling  
Face it like a grown-up  
When ya gonna own up  
That ya got, got, got it bad"

"No chance, now way  
I won't say it, no, no"

"Give up, give in  
Check the grin you're in love"

"This scene won't play,  
I won't say I'm in love"

"You're doin flips read our lips  
You're in love"

"You're way off base  
I won't say it  
Get off my case  
I won't say it"

"Girl, don't be proud  
It's O.K. you're in love"

"Oh  
At least out loud,  
I won't say I'm in love"

"Did that help at all?" Santana asked in a hushed tone once the song was over.

"A little, yeah."

"So you admit that you're in love with him."

"Not out loud."

* * *

-Seriously, dude. I'm trying to give you your space, but I'm worried. Please just talk to me- I sat and stared at the starry sky, watching the clouds in the distance slowly approach. I didn't expect Puck to respond, but to my surprise, this time he did. _I can't believe he finally texted back._

-I'm fine. Quit worrying- _I can't believe he finally texted back and it's only four words...__  
_

-Bullshit, if you were fine you'd still be here. Tell me what's wrong- His next message came fifteen minutes later.

-I thought we could do it and still be bros, but we can't. Everything is different now-

-Nothing's different, Puck-

-I had sex with a guy and liked it- _Yeah, twice..._

-Okay maybe a little is different, but we can get past this-

-And what, pretend it never happened?-

-If that's what we need to do to save our friendship- _As much as it pains me to have to end my first real relationship, I'd rather have him as a friend than as nothing at all.  
_

-It's still not enough. I need time to clear my head-

-I don't like it, but I get it. Take as much time as you need- _I knew this was a bad idea. I told him it would end badly; why didn't I listen to my own advice?_ I put my phone back in my pocket, not bothering to read the last message I received. _Everybody says it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all, but this sucks. I would totally rather have never dated him in the first place; no more boyfriend, no more problems. I'd still have my best friend and he'd still be here with the rest of us._

"Hey, you okay? You look like you're about to cry." _Oh great, Kurt... I know he asks because he's concerned, but he's so fucking nosy..._

"Back off, Kurt. I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Come on, tell me what happened_."  
_

"I said back off. We can talk later."

"Or we could talk now."

"Kurt, I won't ask nicely again. Back. Off."

"What's gonna happen if I don't?"

"What's gonna happen is that he's gonna punch you in the face," Carol informed, stepping between Kurt and me. "He doesn't tense up like that unless he's about to hit something... you'd better let me take it from here." Kurt looked down at me, then silently walked away. "You were going to punch him, weren't you?"

"He was being a nosy bitch and he pissed me off. It's not my fault." Carol sighed, sitting down next to me.

"I thought you had your temper under control now, Aaron. You've been so good lately."

"I thought so too, but this is the first time I've ever been dumped, so I'd call this a special case."

"You never even told me you were dating." I continued to stare off into the distance, pretending I didn't hear the slightly hurt tone in her voice. "I won't make you tell me what happened, but we both know you'll feel better if you do."

"It was Puck," I muttered.

"You were dating Noah Puckerman? But he's so..."

"Hot?"

"Well yeah, but I was going to say straight."

"Yeah, that's the problem. He's freaked out because we had sex and now he wants time away from me to think."

"You had sex with him?"

"A couple times, and it probably cost us our friendship."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, little brother. I'm sure you guys will work this out eventually. That's what best friends do."

"I hope you're right, Carol." _Because I think I do love him...  
_

* * *

*Hope this chapter didn't upset anybody too bad. I know it might seem a bit soon for them to break up, but I've got big plans for the two of them coming up in the next few chapters. Stay tuned!*


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